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"As a fully integrated telecom company, providing mobile, fixed and internet communications for the Isle of Man, we have the opportunity to make a difference to our community in a number of ways."
Chris Hall, Managing Director Manx Telecom
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| Welcome to the Manx Telecom section of the mmO2 plc corporate responsibility report. As the major supplier of telecommunications we have a special responsibility to local society which we exercise with care. |
| Message from Managing Director | Community investment | Mast siting | Environment |
"Manx Telecom has been a leader in technology. We were the first in Europe to set up and operate a 3G network, and the trials we carried out are informing the sort of services O2 will progressively be offering to 3G customers in other regions. The early renewal of our 15 year licence with the Manx Government includes a requirement for us to pass on cost savings to customers in terms of lower prices for phone and broadband services. We are delighted that our work to upgrade every exchange to support ADSL technology is complete, allowing some 98 per cent of premises in the Isle of Man to have access to broadband technology. We believe we have a major role in e-enabling our community and attracting new inward investment to the island."
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Community investment
Our community investment activities are primarily designed to help people make better use of communications technology. The Telecomputer bus continues to be a useful resource for schools across the island, enabling children and their teachers to access broadband internet.
Much of our investment is geared towards youth, education and health. We provide work placements for young people with special needs at our offices and support several youth sports teams. We are currently extending O2 UK's successful asthma trial to the Isle of Man, working with e-San Ltd and the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Security to implement a trial local service designed to improve the quality of treatment for young asthma patients. We are also supporting the Mighty Oaks Appeal, which aims to raise £3 million over two years for a new 12 bed hospice. Our employees staged a custard pie event last year which raised £3,500 for this appeal.
We support the Crimestoppers initiative on the island and are represented on its board. We are also promoting internet usage through support for the Help the Aged drop-in internet centres.
Mast siting
Manx Telecom aims to adopt and adapt best practice from within the Group to meet the needs of the Isle of Man and, for example, within the Ten Commitments drawn up by the Mobile Operators' Association in the UK, the Isle of Man has an additional requirement for planning permission for all mast sites, which provides additional independent vetting.
Environment
We continue to try to limit the environmental impact of our operations and have now introduced the Fonebak scheme supported by Shields Environmental. Our first donation to charity from recycled mobile phones will be used to support local environmental causes. In partnership with the Department of Local Government and the Environment we also recycle telephone directories and some of our network equipment, for example telegraph poles. We are working towards sourcing renewable energy in line with O2 strategy. We are on our way to achieving registration to the international environmental standard ISO 14001 by December 2004.
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| MAST SITING |
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| We aim to listen to and consult communities on where we put our masts > |
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| Do you think youth is the right focus for our community programmes? |
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