Bermuda is to move a step closer to breaking the monopoly on television service when World on Wireless (WOW) begins Island-wide tests of its system in the coming weeks.

President Gavin Wilson said WOW had a blueprint to work from but was now preparing to bring in the equipment so tests could be carried out on the various configurations.

Once the best option is found, which gives excellent coverage to all parts of Bermuda, he hopes the new digital TV service, offering more than 100 channels, can be up and running and available to residents within the first quarter of next year.

And as a first target, Mr. Wilson said WOW hoped to capture about 20 percent of the TV market, which at the moment it solely held by CableVision.

"We are bringing in an antenna and we have a tower site located in the Prospect area, and we have already tested it at a data level," said Mr. Wilson.

"What we can do in this day and age is get a data map of the Island. It tells you what kind of coverage you are going to get at various frequency levels and you can play around with it to get the best coverage. We have got our blueprint to work from, Then we will come down into the field and put the antenna up where we want it. We are bringing in the transmission gear and we will go out and test it using different configurations and see which one works best."

Mr. Wilson said WOW was now looking at what kind of antenna to get and was in the process of bringing the equipment in.

But he said it should only take about two weeks to carry out the tests, and then aggressive marketing of the new digital system would begin.

He said there would be no installation costs to residents, and there would be various packages with different costs, and WOW was hoping to put a package in place where customers could choose the channels they wanted. He added: "CableVision lost its luxury status a long time ago. It's now become more of a necessity. We want to be able to make it attractive, no matter where you are on the economic spectrum."

Mr. Wilson introduced pay television to Bermuda when he founded CableVision in the 1970s. However, he has long since ended his business association with that firm.

But Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb gave Mr. Wilson and his business partners Troy Symonds and Shaun Davis an in-principle licence to provide an additional television service earlier this year, on the understanding that its operational plan was reviewed by her before WOW was launched.