The only thing standing between the Bermuda public and 40 new cable channels is Government inertia, a broadcast company boss claimed yesterday.

Corey Butterfield, director of Hardell Cable Ltd., told that his company had been granted a licence to operate an alternative cable service but was waiting on the Telecommunications Minister before the service could be launched.

He claimed that the company had been given a licence as long ago as 1996 following a public hearing but had to wait until last year before Government put in place technological regulations that would allow the service to operate.

He said the regulatory framework was put in place late last year with Government now stalling over the issuing of the licence once more.has seen documents that show Hardell had indeed been granted a licence, including a letter from May, 1997 in which Telecommunications Inspector Ted Pitman wrote: "The Minister has asked me to respond to your letters ... and to inform you that he is prepared to issue licences to Hardell Cable TV Limited in accordance with the ... decision of the acting Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons."

But Acting Director of Telecommunications Bill Francis said yesterday: "The status of the subscription cable licence is under discussion at the moment. I will be meeting with the Minister in the near future to determine the status, and a decision, on the licence application."

Mr. Butterfield said that Hardell were originally granted the licence in 1996 by then Acting Telecommunications Minister Grant Gibbons but the new wireless technology was more advanced than the then-regulations covered.

But with regulations now in place, there was nothing to stop the launch of the 40-channel service ? except inactivity by Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb.

"Ms Webb is not issuing the licence, she is simply being belligerent," said Mr. Butterfield, whose company, or affiliated companies, are engaged in two legal battles with Government, one over the revoking of an initially allocated broadcast frequency and one over the supply of multimedia services at the Airport and $200,000 worth of missing equipment.

"We have been trying to get the regulations for seven years. In September last year, we wrote and said we were ready to launch and conduct a trial in six months. Two weeks later they write saying they had revoked our frequencies.

"Somebody, somewhere, doesn't want us to operate this service."

He added that Hardell "was six months from launch" with both the equipment and the new channels lined up just waiting for the nod from the authorities.

He said draft agreements were in place for 40 channels while the small, flat, rectangular dishes required to receive the wireless service were also ready to be rolled out for a trial whenever Government gave his company the green light.

Late last month a Hardell company completed installation of cable at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital following a long-running dispute which also made it to the courts. Servicing the hospital television network is exempt from the usual broadcasting licences.

Meanwhile, a cable broadcast licence was issued to World on Wireless (WOW) by the Telecommunications Ministry in January, but the company, which is hoping to offer around 90 channels, has yet to begin transmissions.

Ms Webb was unavailable for comment last night.