Internet.

The company is angered that it is competing directly with C&W for access.

And it has fired off formal complaints to the Telecommunications Commission, the Minister and the Solicitor General.

Logic chief executive officer Peter Durhager, however, claims the grievances have fallen on deaf ears.

"On at least three separate occasions we have submitted letters of complaint to the commission, the Minister and the solicitor general,'' said Mr.

Durhager, "and the solicitor general told us that we were absolutely correct that what Cable & Wireless is doing is outside their licence and unlawful.'' Cable & Wireless, responding to an inquiry about the service, admitted it offered a product called `BusinessConnect'.

"Cable & Wireless `BusinessConnect' is a dedicated, high speed data service designed to provide businesses with a fast, reliable and cost effective way of connecting their entire network of users to the Internet backbone, 24 hours a day,'' the company said.

Mr. Durhager noted that Cable & Wireless even solicited, Diel & Meyers, the legal firm that handles Logic's business, to be one of its clients.

But despite what he feels to be an abuse of its `A' class licence, Mr.

Durhager noted that no ultimatum or directive to cease this service had been handed down from the Telecommunications Minister.

Adding to his discontent is that his company had to stop the cheap long distance service of Logicphone, under threat of legal prosecution.

"It appears that we are being singularly penalised,'' he said.

"Although the market are demanding lower phone rates and we in response are being innovative enough to re-invent ourselves. Instead of being rewarded for trying to do that,we are being penalised,'' he insisted. But persistent warring between local telecommunications providers sees Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb almost constantly stepping in to mediate.

Ms Webb said all the major players in the local industry were "always complaining about each other''.

"They all have invested a lot of money in their businesses based on assumptions,'' she said.

Acknowledging receipt of the complaint letters, Ms Webb said Logic Communications had failed to give the ministry specific examples where Cable & Wireless was breaking their licence.

The BusinessConnect service is made available through lines leased from the Bermuda Telephone Company (BTC) and, according to Ms Webb, this makes the operation legitimate and well within the licence agreement.

Logic protests over C&W She explained that `A' class carriers, Cable & Wireless, had permission to offer voice and data service to and from Bermuda, that `B' class carriers BTC offered services through Bermuda and that `C' class carriers Logic Communications had permission to offer Internet services and were restricted from offering voice.

She said that an `A' class carrier was not allowed to offer Internet service directly, and pointed out that use of BTC lines made the business legal.

Asked if the resulting competition went against the spirit of the law, Ms Webb said no. She noted that the rapid growth of technology was resulting in "An overlapping of functions and services'' of local telecommunication companies.

Eager to see a balance of the best services and harmony in the industry, Ms Webb said she was always organising meetings between the parties in an effort for them to settle their problems through compromise.

She noted that all the companies tried to impress on her the importance of their bottom line, but that she had the interest of the public at large to look after.

NEW BIBA OFFICES OPENED BUC New BIBA offices opened The Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) entertained Governor Thorold Masefield and Premier Jennifer Smith at the opening of their new offices last night.

BIBA are now situated on the ground floor of Century House on Par-La-Ville Road.

Renee Webb