Telecom announced yesterday that it will launch its new mobile telephone service within 45 days after problems with suppliers and software glitches delayed its debut - originally scheduled for April.

Firoz Kassam, the company's vice president of marketing and development, said the development of the company's $6 million network is 95 percent complete, with most of the antennae already installed on existing towers. One hundred beta users will be connected to test the system - which can handle up to 20,000 subscribers - next week.

Telecom hired ten staff to assist with the network's development since it was announced late last year and Mr. Kassam expects the company will hire more as the subscriber base grows.

Telecom will be the first local provider to use the Global System for Mobile Communications standard, or GSM for short.

GSM's advantage is its ubiquity: because it is the most popular mobile standard in the world, GSM customers can use their phone in just about every country. So far, Telecom has signed roaming agreements with 71 carriers.

The digital standard used by the existing carriers - BTC Mobility and Cellular One - runs on TDMA, a standard popular in North America but few places else. This limits the number of countries where customers can use their phones.

Rates remain to be finalised, but as Telecom launches its service, it will have to compete with BTC Mobility's plans to introduce packages that will offer unlimited calls to all subscribers between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

BTC also plans to introduce Short Message Service, or SMS, for an additional fee, and Telecom plans to compete, although Mr. Kassam would not say if the company would charge extra.

Cellular One said it currently has no plans to change its rates, although that may change once BTC earns regulatory approval for its new rate structure and Telecom enters the market.

Michael Leverock, Cellular One's chief operating officer, expressed concern when Telecom first announced it plans; even though his company was considered a maverick when it entered the mobile phone business in 1999, he said the market could adequately be served by two carriers.