First impressions can be misleading. The sight of horse-drawn trams on the Douglas seafront, and news that the numbers of passengers handled by the 135-year-old Isle of Man Steam Railway in 2007 grew 7 per cent while airport passenger numbers dipped 3 per cent, might suggest a country whose communications infrastructure is stuck in a time warp.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Communications links are vital for the growth of an island community such as the Isle of Man. And while the local tourist industry has benefited from the Manx government’s continued investment in its network of around 40 miles of “heritage” railways, growing air and sea links with the mainland mean that the island is one of the better connected places in the British Isles.