Government last night remained tight-lipped over plans concerning its long-awaited TV station originally due to go live in June.

Last year, it allotted $840,000 for the project and in this year's budget, set aside $690,000 and five full time staff to man the channel, which is to be hosted by Bermuda CableVision.

Attempts by The Royal Gazette to obtain information on the channel have proved fruitless after a wall of silence from Government's Department of Communication and information (DCI).

However it is understood that Government has ruled out another launch date beyond September because of upcoming national events.

The Bermuda Jazz Festival falls in October and the Escape to Bermuda Triathlon, also starts on October 21. The USPGA Grand Slam of golf is also taking place next month.

The Opposition United Bermuda Party has on at least two occasions called for Government to reveal the programming schedule and other details.

In August, Opposition spokesperson for Telecommunications, Senator E.T. (Bob) Richards told this paper: "Government has proposed that the station will be something like the BBC in the UK, which is government owned. "But the BBC has total editorial independence from the Government there and has flogged past Governments and the current one, royally, and have taken delight in doing so.

"It does not appear that this TV station will be of that nature. Then they (Government) gave the example of Barbados, where they have the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which is government owned as well.

"I shot that down because that particular TV station was put in place when there was no TV stations at all in Barbados, in other words, the CBC brought TV to Barbados, there were no private sector TV stations at all when that came.''

In the House of Assembly, former Premier Alex Scott, described the project in this way: "The Government feels it prudent and necessary to speak on a regular basis directly to the people of this country, in an unmediated and unedited fashion."