A full-time Christian station and another devoted to jazz and community issues could be on the air soon if Government approves an application for two new radio stations.

LTT pitched its case before the Telecommunications Commission yesterday which will make a recommendation within six weeks to Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb, who will make a final decision.

Bermuda Broadcasting Company and Defontes Television opposed the applications yesterday, saying there was not enough advertising money to support more competition.

Delano Ingham, representing BBC, said they may be forced to shut down news services if new competition was allowed to come into the market.

?We are concerned about the dollar bite out there, and how we can share those dollars,? he said.

LTT plans to bring public service broadcasting from Public Radio International and National Public Radio in the United States including local and international news programmes on the hour.

And, according to a written submission, it aims to have news programmes which get behind the headlines on issues such as the involvement of young black men in crime, and examining if ex-pats are really the cause of problems such as high rents and traffic congestion.

LTT plans live programmes of community events such as public meetings and forums.

There are more than 110 churches in Bermuda but they are not served adequately by existing Christian broadcasts on BBN, they argue.

All the people behind LTT are Christians, but the company said the stations would accept advertising for alcohol from companies such as Goslings and Bacardi, provided it was tailored sensitively.

The core of the team behind the stations will be volunteers, although many have a strong background in broadcasting.

Company president Leo Trott told the hearing at the Anglican Cathedral Hall in Hamilton yesterday that the jazz and community station could be up and running within four to six months of getting a licence, with the Christian station on the air within nine months of approval.

Vice-president Craig Harris, who has a long record in the media, including a spell in advertising at , said: ?If you build it they will come. We will present content that is not being presented, or we will present what is already here in a new way and give it a fresh perspective.?

He said the company had received a good feedback from potential advertisers.

The stations will not be run primarily for profit but for the good of the community, but the company was confident they could be making money within the first three years.

Mr. Harris said the company could still continue in operation even if costs went up 30 percent more than anticipated and revenue was off by 50 percent.

Referring to the company?s position on advertising alcohol, Mr. Harris said: ?Personally, I am not a drinker, but I don?t have a problem with someone promoting that responsibly in the community.

?If they are creative, they will find a way to tailor it to our audience. A good advertising executive would know you can?t always press the same buttons in the same places.?

On Wednesday, the Commission heard an application from Inter-Island Communication Ltd. for two FM stations, Hott FM and Smooth FM.

Arguing there was not enough cash to support more stations, Mr. Ingham of BBC asked the Commission yesterday: ?Where would the money be coming from?

?The latest TV show (Fresh TV) when they came here had whole ideas about the thing (where to get money from) but when it came to knocking on the door, the money was not there.?

In response to criticism of the BBC for failing the community ? leaving a need for new programmes ? Mr. Ingham said: ?We have been operating at a loss for the last four years and that is not from a failure to get the community involved or a failure to get the news into the community.

?The company is suffering because of the proliferation (of media) and a (split) of the pie out there.

?We are threatened and saying can we even continue to provide news? I am not opposed to competition, but I am opposed to it at the expense of the service we provide.

?We are not a fly-by-night corporation. My fear is once these operations are in place and then it becomes a problem ? and by then services have been cut.

?I am appealing to you when you do your deliberation to take this into consideration.?

After the hearing, Mr. Trott, who has worked at Cable and Wireless since 1991, told : ?We think we are in good shape and our product is unique to anything else that is out there now.

?What was presented yesterday (from Inter-Island Communication) was great, but we are not in competition with anything.?

And Mr. Harris added: ?We encourage all the licences to be granted. It is time after all these years to rejuvenate this and capture more of a national identity that is sorely lacking from this medium.?

They were joined at the hearing by jazz presenter Lee Johnson, who will be programme manager if the bid is successful.

The Telecommunications Commissioners who heard the application yesterday were Kent Stewart, Lorianne Gilbert, Norman Dill, and Stewart Minors.