A Supreme Court judge is poised to rule on whether former Minister of Telecommunications Renee Webb could lawfully grant or issue a cable television service operating licence to World on Wireless! at a time when she was facing legal proceedings from Hardell Cable Television.

WOW! landed in the centre of a legal dispute between hopeful cable provider Hardell Cable Television and then-Minister Webb when she announced at a January 21, 2003 press conference that WOW! had been awarded a licence to provide cable television service in Bermuda on a 2.5Ghz and 2.76Ghz MMDS frequency.

Just four days prior to that announcement, Hardell Cable Television, owned by businessman Harold Darrell, applied to the courts for a judicial review of Ms Webb's decision to revoke its cable operating licence and 2.3-2.67Ghz MMDS frequency allocation.

Mr. Darrell said Ms Webb had revoked his right to both of these just months earlier after he first received them under the UBP Government in 1997.

This week Puisne Judge Geoffrey Bell ordered that both the licence and frequency allocation be reinstated to Hardell. The order he signed on Tuesday was drafted by Solicitor General Wilhelm Bourne - acting for the Ministry of Telecommunications - and Hardell lawyer Delroy Duncan.

It gives current Minister of Telecommunications Michael Scott until next Tuesday to issue Hardell a licence to operate a wireless cable system service which will transmit visual voice and data images within the 2.5 to 2.76 Ghz frequency range of the MMDS spectrum. The order also stipulates that the Minister must provide the company with a 22-month window within which to launch the wireless cable service.

With this matter settled, the court turned its attention yesterday to the events of January 21, 2003 - the day Ms Webb held a Press conference in which she announced WOW! as the new licensee.

On the same day, Hardell's lawyer Delroy Duncan served the Minister and the Attorney General's chambers with a stay signed by then Chief Justice Austin Ward.

The stay prevented Ms Webb from issuing a cable television licence or allocating frequency - until Hardell's complaint over the revoked licence and frequency allocation was resolved in court.

The dispute boils down to whether Ms Webb granted the licence to WOW before the stay was properly served. If the stay came first, and she still issued the licence, she would be in breach.

Mr. Duncan told the court that his firm lawfully and validly served the stay on the Ministry of Telecommunications offices at 12:05 p.m. on January 21. His firm also hand delivered the same stay to the Attorney General's chambers at 12:10 p.m. and actually informed Solicitor General Bourne that the documents were “urgent”.

The Minister's Press conference announcing that WOW! had been granted the licence and MMDS frequency began at 12:40 p.m.

Solicitor General Bourne, however, entered a sworn affidavit from then Director of Telecommunications Greg Swan which detailed his time leading up to the Press conference and his statement that he did not see the envelope marked “urgent” until he returned to his office around 2:15 p.m. Mr. Swan's evidence states that it was only after that time that he moved to bring a copy of the stay to the Minister.

No evidence on exactly when the licence was issued was submitted to court.

The lawyers also went into arguments on whether the service of a stay needed to be on the Minister and the AG directly or only upon their offices.

It is unclear what will happen if the judge decides in favour of Hardell in this matter.

WOW!, which is owned by Bermuda CableVision founder Gavin Wilson and Fort Knox founder Troy Symonds, was informed of the proceedings and given opportunity to take part, but the company chose not to appear. As well, WOW! may have applied for an MMDS licence but it has since offered its service on a UHF frequency.