permission to build a telecommunications facility on the roof of a hotel.

BDC, which intends to compete with the Bermuda Telephone Company in the local telephone market, has submitted several similar applications to the Planning Department in its bid to set up an Island wide cell-phone network.

The station which received planning permission from the Development Applications Board last week will go on the roof of the Southampton Princess Hotel.

It will consist of two 12-foot whip antennae and a 12-inch diameter parabolic dish which will be mounted on a mechanical room on the roof of the hotel's north wing.

BDC wish to build facilities at other locations around the Island including: A 60-foot tower at Tudor Hill in Southampton along with an equipment hut and an eight-foot security fence with a gate; A 100-foot tower, two 12-foot whip antennas, a reception dish and equipment hut at Fort Hill Road in Devonshire; and A 40-foot tower with two 12-foot whip antennae as well as transmission equipment at Daisyfield Drive in Sandys.

BDC chief operating officer Michael Leverock said the station was part of the company's process to establish its network around the Island and finalise its operation before a proposed start up by July.

He added the other sites were expected to finish the planning approval process in the near future.

The DAB ordered that the approved antennae and dish be removed from the hotel's roof if they ceased to be used for a period of six months.

BUSINESS BUC