Undue delays and poor service in repairs and installing telephone lines could leave Bermuda Telephone Company facing new fines in the future.

This, according to Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb , who last night in the House of Assembly Budget debate on Telecommunications and E-commerce said Government was considering penalties for BTC if it did not buck up and improve the quality of its service.

The Minister said a recent survey showed that a third of Bermuda residents who completed it were not happy with the level of service from BTC.

She said that the Telecommunications Commission was currently working with BTC to improve the quality of service for the Island.

But if standards were not upped, then the Progressive Labour Party would take the lead from other countries who impose fines for delays and poor service.

Ms Webb said that in a survey, two thirds of Bermuda residents said they were completely or generally satisfied with the service from BTC.

"In contrast one third are mostly not satisfied,'' she said. "Clearly this has to be improved.'' And she said that she did not want a repeat of last week's show of frustration when a customer in a fork-lift truck hijacked a BTC van in a bid to get his phone line connected.

She said: "We are working on it. BTC do have a lot on their hands but they are trying to work on it. We are trying to ensure that BTC does improve its service level to the public.

"Maybe the final solution is increased competition and fines for long delays and excessive delays. This has proved to be effective in other countries.'' On Friday, The Royal Gazette reported that businessman Richard Powell hijacked a BTC truck with his fork-lift truck.

He refused to let the yellow van go until the workers connected his phone lines which had been down for three months.

"The frustration had just built up in me,'' Mr. Powell said. "This has been a three month saga -- it started back in December. The phones just seem to work when they feel like it.'' Mr. Powell, who owns and operates Lines Food and Liquor Mart on Ord Road in Warwick where the hijack took place, said the unreliable phone service meant he was unable to run credit checks on customers.

After the story ran, The Royal Gazette received a flurry of letters in support of Mr. Powell and his actions.

But Ms Webb said that while many could sympathise with Mr. Powell, this was not the way forward for frustrated BTC customers and that her Ministry was working with the company to improve service.

Ms Webb added that only 14 percent of customers were unhappy with their long distance carriers and attributed the fact to increased competition which had improved services and lowered prices.

And she added that the introduction of competition for Internet providers for commercial use had led to a reduction in cost by 30 percent.

Ms Webb did not rule out introducing further competition to local Internet providers.

But she said that with the possibility of Quantum coming in as direct competition with BTC, the service should improve and implied costs would come down.

KeyTech, the owner of BTC and Logic, reported in December that its profits soared 25 percent to $7.1 million in six months. The rise was attributed to improved performance and to reduced operating and financing expenses.

In July 2000, money brought in from local telephone calls by BTC, Bermuda's oldest local carrier, shot up nearly 30 percent in the year.

Ministry of Telecommunication & E-Commerce 2001/02 estimates Ministry responsibility: To provide support to the Government of Bermuda by: A) promoting effective communications between the Government and the people of Bermuda; B) assisting the Telecommunications authority in the orderly development of telecommunications in Bermuda; and C) marketing and developing Bermuda into an E-Commerce hub.

Budget estimate: $5,667,000 (last year $4,956,000) Revenue: $6,700,000, Budget allocations Computer systems and services $4,083,000 Telecommunications $1,038,000 E-Commerce $546,000