It's been four months waiting for my phone to be connected and still waiting.

It's been so long I'm tired of calling and asking when will my phone be connected, the only response we are getting is that they will look into it and get back to us, but that never happens.

BTC are so quick to charge people $3 for late payments on their bill, and say they are losing so much thousands of dollars on pay phones each year. Do they think about the people who lose money in these pay phones also? For example, when you call someone who has these new phone radios and you can not get through your .25 cents is gone. You want to call somebody at home and you need to speak to them not their answering machine your 25 cents is gone. At least with the old pay phones if no-one answered you still had a quarter to try again later, maybe this is why people are trying not to use your new pay phones. I know I'm tired of them taking my money and not being able to speak to whoever I'm calling.

I am just so fed up with only one Telephone Company that cannot please its customers. I am asking the Bermuda Government to allow another Telephone Company to set up operations down here, then just maybe BTC will wake up.

I have been more than patient with BTC. I wonder if BTC will be able to prove themselves in the near future.

I have been using my cell phone some nights which I try not to do, am I going to be charged 25 cents a call of 15 cents each minute? I am forced to get back on my bike or my wife goes to find a phone and make a call.

Right now I am leaning towards Cellular One and register my cell phone with them, that's how fed up I am.

P.S. I agree with some of the things the person who wrote a letter to the Editor signed (Tone Deaf).

1) BTC to provide free service for one month for anyone who has to wait more then three weeks to get their phone serviced, six weeks should be two months free service, and nine weeks should be three months and so on.

2) I would not go as far to say fire all the management, because the CEO of the company is just as much to blame if she doesn't know what is going on with her company and can not improve it.

3) Get these representatives to go the people's houses who are waiting so long for a phone and explain to them what is going on.

I wonder if the CEO or any of the other shareholders have to wait this long if their phone went dead. I bet not. So instead of worrying about how much money you're losing on pay phones you should be worrying about how much to get your average customers phone working in at least a two week period, because if another telephone service comes here I will be the first in line to sign up.

No-one should be waiting this long for a phone to be connected. If this is the way you do business you should just sell the company to some other telecommunication company.

You don't even hear an apology from any of them.

D. BROWN Somerset Cut public spending September 17, 1999 Dear Sir, The Bermuda Government has claimed that the new electronic commerce legislation puts Bermuda in the forefront of conducting business over the Internet. I regret I do not agree. I feel sure that anyone else who knows anything substantial about the Internet, Intranets and the global impact of electronic commerce, as opposed to the "Bermuda is Another World'' at all costs perspective, will disagree as well.

To succeed in doing any more than holding our place in today's now even more hugely competitive world because of electronic commerce, Bermuda must first depend greatly on what initiatives the Government, above all others, can show in reducing its costs to taxpayers.

Bermuda simply cannot be in the forefront of electronic commerce until there are some huge reductions in Government expenditure -- much more obvious in Bermuda than anywhere else, with its 51 legislators in only 20.75 square miles and over 14 percent of the entire working population as civil servants or in quangos.

Reductions must be in enough ways to bring prices down enough to both lower import duties appreciably and lower internet costs from Bermuda hugely -- with or without the cooperation and even participation of Cable & Wireless and TeleBermuda International.

Only these firm and decisive actions will help start to put Bermuda where we would all like it to be -- in a position to be competitive in electronic commerce despite its tiny size, isolation and lack of economies of scale.

Effective electronic commerce to improve Bermuda's position with the rest of the world will also not be possible to any appreciable extent until there is an elimination of all protectionist legislation where they make Bermuda's lack of economies of scale even more obvious and less attractive because laws do not allow foreign corporations to own more than 40 percent of a local business. Plus, local laws do not permit overseas based organisations with huge bulk purchasing power elsewhere and no controls (like Bermuda has) to own local outlets.

A leading London law firm, Linklaters & Paines (e-mail blueflag ylinklaters.com) was consulted by the Bermuda Government. It is amazing that it did not point any of this out to the Bermuda taxpayers who paid the cost of the Government consulting of the law firm and were entitled to first class service for what they paid.

KEITH A. FORBES Hamilton Parish Promise falls short September 14, 1999 Dear Sir, Cellular One said their Warwick tower emissions would be hundreds of times lower than the FCC limits. It now seems that it is just nine percent -- only about ten times lower.

Why do the residents of Warwick and other areas have to be subjected to nine percent radiation of FCC limits 24 hours a day seven days a week, for the rest of their lives? Its unfair, totally unfair. People should have more say in their environment, and not have cellular companies imposing themselves on the whole community.

Cellular One were completely avail of the hazards even before they started to build. The community think they should go.

CONCERNED Warwick Thanks for the sixes! September 16, 1999 Dear Sir, The Bermuda Society for the Blind wishes to publicly thank Cable & Wireless Bermuda, for a donation recently presented to our Director, Mrs. Gallagher.

The amount, $6,200, represents funds raised during Cup Match '99, when Cable and Wireless donated $200 for every "6'' scored.

This is the third Cup Match running that Cable and Wireless have done this and we are very grateful to them for this unique and very effective way of raising funds, although they may be starting to get a bit apprehensive as the standard of cricket only seems to improve each year! In closing our thanks must, also, go to Mr. Malcolm Raynor of Cable & Wireless, whose idea this was originally, and also, of course, to all the players in Cup Match `99 for giving us such an exciting game.

NIGEL STEWART Chairman Bermuda Society for the Blind Help for St. Brendan's September 17, 1999 Dear Sir, Kindly allow through your column, the expression of heartfelt thanks on behalf of the St. Brendan's Hospital Amenities Committee (SBAC) and the St.

Brendan's Learning Disability Community Services.

Most recently, the family of Ms Gertrude Roberts donated $400 to the committee. The funds arose from donations in lieu of gifts at Ms. Roberts' 50th birthday.

Ms Roberts is a resident of one of St. Brendan's Community Group Homes for the learning disabled, to which the fund will be earmarked.

The family and friends can feel proud of their efforts as they have given back to a cause that has provided long term quality care for their loved one. May this be insightful to others who may wish to consider a similar event. Once again, thank you to everyone who contributed.

LINDA TROTT SBAC Representative Piddock's lack of honour September 18, 1999 Dear Sir, Your correspondent Piddock has constructed allegations to you that I am compelled by honour to respond too.

Piddock alleges that in his experience "better communication'' means an avoidance of looking truth in the eye. I would challenge him that at Warwick Camp, soldiers will never shirk responsibilities or be unwilling or unable to look truth directly in the eye.

He further writes "most of the people who work there are so childish they very badly need to be spanked''. This gives a clear indication of Piddock's psychosis and disdain for all of the hardworking members of the Bermuda Regiment. Not only has he maligned present members of The Regiment, he also takes an unfair swipe at loyal past members.

In today's cowardly society, personal attacks seem to have a puny addition that tries to dilute responsibility from the writer. By using banal language such as "most of the people who work there are so childish,'' is Piddock inferring "all of the people''? I take great exception to any attack listed as "Well, the majority are childish'' -- who then, sir, are the minority? To suggest that members of the Bermuda Regiment had trumpeted their concerns publicly shows Piddock'S complete lack of facts, and belies the pseudonym Piddock. Piddock's uncommon thoughts on a subject he has doubtless researched little, does him an injustice. He clearly feels that this is another "Storm in a teacup'', and "flabby nonsense''. It is obvious that he still lives in another era when injustices were commonplace and not addressed in a frank and honourable manner, by frank and honourable men.

Perhaps Piddock should burrow further.

SWORD & PEN Sandys Parish