Government "brinkmanship" put in jeopardy the island's cable TV service, claimed acting Opposition Telecommunications spokesman John Barritt yesterday.

He said giving CableVision four days notice that it would only get a one-year licence renewal and not the 15-year deal it was expecting could scare other businesses reliant on Government licences.

Court action stopped CableVision axing its service on Saturday and the company must continue for another 90 days.

Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb said there had been no talks with Cablevision yesterday.

She said: "We are just waiting to get something in writing with respect to quality of service so we have nothing to talk about yet."

Mr. Barritt said of the crisis in which an injunction was delivered to Cablevision's lawyer late on Friday: "It's a classic case of brinkmanship."

He said he had concerns over CableVision's service but the company should have been given a longer licence than a year and warned it would be revoked if problems persisted.

He said: "You hold them on a tight leash. There is a middle way."

But Ms Webb said the company was on a tight rein anyway as a scheduled carrier. "I don't want to threaten to revoke the licence. I want them to deliver a service."

She said the brinkmanship had come from CableVision by threatening to shut down.

And Ms Webb denied the company had been given short notice about its new licence. "We were in talks for a year."

Mr. Barritt said he feared the one-year licence might be a secret way to cripple CableVision, adding: "I hope that's not the agenda here."

And he said if the Minister wanted to promote competition in the cable TV industry, she should articulate Government policy and hold public hearings.

But Ms Webb said: "No one is trying to paralyse CableVision when the majority of the country has CableVision. He should think of something more sensible to say.

"Two companies have applied for cable licences. It's transparent. Applications go to the Telecommunications Commission. It's a public hearing."

Ms. Webb said it was her Ministry's job to look after the public interest.

"Look at what happened with the (new cable) boxes and the World Cup. These are not inventions of the Ministry."

She said telecommunications companies would not be scared away by the controversy. "They all have licences and no one is saying they want to wind down."