Bermuda moves against defiant call-back firm GlobalTel

Hamilton, Bermuda, January 16, CANA - People in Bermuda found assisting illegal call-back companies to operate on the island could face a US$50,000 fine and up to two years in prison.

Government officials issued the stark warning on Sunday after it came to light that defiant call-back firm GlobalTel is back up and running again - despite being shut down twice before.

The company, which is based in New York City and offers cheap overseas telephone calls to Bermuda residents, contacted its customers during the last three days with new instructions.

A new, friendlier voice mail message left on customers' answerphone machines said it now had different pager numbers for people to use, apologised for any inconvenience and said its service had been updated.

Telecommunications Director Greg Swan warned that although call-back customers were not breaking the law, there were people on the island who had special equipment that was enabling GlobalTel to operate.

Those people, he said, were liable to face the law.

"We want to make it clear to anyone in Bermuda that is assisting in the provision of call-back services on the island that it is very much illegal and they are breaking the law," Swan said.

He predicted that time was running out for GlobalTel as he believed scores of residents had already left the call-back companies and migrated to the services of local long-distance providers TeleBermuda International (TBI) and Cable and Wireless.

Government voted to ban call-back services in mid-December in a bid to repay the local providers of long-distance calls.

Telecommunications minister Renee Webb said the island-based firms had invested in Bermuda by installing and improving infrastructure and employing staff.

She condemned the overseas call-back companies for taking away between $3 million and $10 million worth of overseas calls every year without actually investing anything back into the island.

As a result of the ban and steps to allow Internet providers to offer overseas calls, the cost of legal long-distance calls has plummeted.

However, GlobalTel has defied the ban and instead launched a campaign to recruit new customers and offer more competitive prices.

Two other two companies, Callsave and Fiber Tel, have not been anywhere near as aggressive, although Callsave has very recently circulated an e-mail to its customers urging them to recruit new members in return for discounts.

Government officials have already shut down the GlobalTel service twice, as well as seizing equipment from people on the island believed to have been assisting the company.