with advertising picturing a perplexed model wrapped up in telephone cord.

"Compete? If only we could,'' the advertisement states, taking aim at what Cable & Wireless says is a "grossly unfair situation'' under which Government's telecommunication policy keeps residents from getting cheaper international telephone rates.

And as the telecommunications giant makes its case to the Bermuda public, it also drops veiled threats of staff reductions and service cutbacks should things continue the way they are.

In a related move, the company also announced it has submitted an abridged version of information the Telecommunication Commission was demanding before it would consider the company's applications for rate reductions on a range of long-distance services.

The wave of activity from Cable & Wireless is a response to the loss of up to 25 percent of its share in the long-distance sector to rival TeleBermuda International Ltd.(TBI).

"This is yet another delaying tactic by the Telecommunications Commission which prevents us from being able to compete equally with TBI,'' Cable & Wireless general manager Colin Little stated in announcing the submission of the document.

"...This lumbering process which services to delay even further our efforts to introduce lower international rates is what we have been complaining about all along. However in the spirit of trying to resolve the issue we will yet again attempt to comply with the Commission's request.'' The dispute is part of the skirmish the company is having with Government over the introduction of competition in Bermuda's telecommunication sector.

Under Government's policy, Cable & Wireless has been specified as dominant carrier in the market. The specification means the company must submit any proposal to lower its prices to the Telecommunications Commission.

Under the regulations, Cable & Wireless also had to submit commercial information about its costs and other financial matters to show it was not trying to undercut TeleBermuda through predatory pricing.

Cable & Wireless has made eight applications for rate reductions since rival TeleBermuda International began operations last May. TeleBermuda offers long-distance rates 15 percent below Cable & Wireless' and has so far taken 25 percent of the market away.

However in submitting the applications it specified all the related information it had supplied was confidential. However the Telecommunications Act requires a company to justify claims of confidentiality and provide an abridged version of the information which may be made public. The company has never made public its revenues and profits from its Bermuda operation.

On January 29 the company rejected the Commission's request for an abridged version of the information on the grounds it was "confidential and commercially sensitive''.

The company is also claiming a reported $100 million in monetary damages for loss of its monopoly position.