The Isle of Man says it has won the right to take away from Bermuda the opportunity to use a potentially lucrative satellite slot, according to an online report yesterday.

Attempts to confirm the report, from news site the Isle of Man Today, with Bermuda Telecommunications Ministry officials by Press time last night were unsuccessful.

In the report, Isle of Man Treasury Minister Allan Bell said that island's coffers had been able to re-absorb a half a million pounds because it no longer needed to keep a war chest to fund a legal battle with Bermuda over the use of one of two space slots that this Island won the right to in 1983.

As of the middle of last year, the longstanding dispute was still not resolved.

The conflict stems from the Isle of Man in 2002 filing its intent with the UK Office of Communications to launch a satellite into an unplanned slot in the vicinity of Bermuda's unused satellite space.

The tussle over this area of space likely has to do with its location. A slight moderation to the Bermuda slot's footprint would put it in position to broadcast into the central US, although permission to do so would have to be negotiated.

As it stands under the agreement, Bermuda has the right to beam broadcasts from its two slots into Bermuda, and possibly the UK, and also may now be able to extend that into the European Union.

Some time after the Isle of Man filed its intent, Bermuda applied to slightly modify the footprint of its slot. But since communications satellites use the same frequency a problem arose ? the Isle of Man and Bermuda cannot both operate satellites at such close range.

Bermuda was awarded the right to use the spot ? located at 96.2 degrees west ? at a United Nations broadcasting conference more than 20 years ago, but has yet to actually make good on use of the slot.

It is understood that Kiskadee Communications (Bermuda) Limited, a company with both foreign and local backers, has for several years been quietly trying to set up an operation to use the satellite spots but has yet to get off the ground.

The company previously stated its intention to put up a satellite costing up to $275 million to fill one of the slots allocated to Bermuda by the UN's International Telecommunications Union.

The Isle of Man says it is actively trying to attract more satellite operators to its shores, and has said a transaction in the works for five satellites could see 1 billion euros brought into the island's economy.

Bermuda officials have previously said use of each of its two slots could bring in annual revenues in the region of $850 million, although the net income would be lower. And that development of this business had lucrative business potential, and could be a complement to the Island's financial services industry.

In 1983 Bermuda was also accorded, along with some Caribbean countries, the right to use a third satellite slot.