US Virgin Islands company Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. is hoping to take full control of Bermuda Digital Communications Ltd., (BDC) the parent company of Cellular One.

Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. said in its earnings release yesterday that the company was "in negotiations with certain shareholders of Bermuda Digital Communications Ltd. to acquire up to all of the capital stock of Bermuda Digital which the company does not already own".

Altantic Tele-Network presently owns 43 percent of the capital stock of BDC.

Atlantic Tele-Network also said in its earnings release: "The transaction remains subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive transaction documents and the receipt of Bermuda Monetary Authority approval."

Spokesperson for Atlantic Tele-Network Steven M. Ross told The Royal Gazette yesterday that he could not make any comments on the relationship with BDC and added: "All the information that is going to be made public right now is in that release (the earnings release)."

However, when asked whether BDC had an exemption from the 60/40 rule, Mr. Ross said: "Yes."

Mr. Ross also said Atlantic Tele-Network was publicly traded - the company is listed on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) - and that was all they could say at the moment.

BDC principal Michael Leverock could not be contacted for comment on Friday although he did return calls made by The Royal Gazette.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Finance said the Bermuda Monetary Authority or the Ministry of Telecommunications and e-Commerce would be in a better position to answer questions about the matter.

Chairperson of the BMA Sheryl-Ann Lister had not returned phone calls by presstime and Telecommunications director Gregory Swan was out of the office until today.

According to Atlantic Tele-Network's earnings release, through its 43 percent holding in BDC, the company recorded "equity in earnings" of $679,000 from BDC for the three months ended September 30, and $1.527 million for the nine months ended September 30 of this year.

This means that BDC recoded earnings of $1,579,000 in the last quarter and $3,551,162 year to date.

BDC was formed by CEO Kurt Eve and partner Mr. Leverock and the company obtained a telecommunications license in 1998.

In September, BDC unveiled plans for a multi-million dollar network upgrade over the next six months enabling it to launch what it claimed was the latest cellular technology by March of next year.

News of the network overhaul followed the carrier entering into an agreement with US based Commnet Suppy, a Lucent Technologies business partner offering wireless technology solutions. The end result, according to CellularOne which also claimed to be the largest cellular company in Bermuda, will be what is called a third-generation (3G) CDMA2000 wireless network.