Digicel yesterday insisted its new long distance service was lawful and said it planned to continue offering it despite doubts cast by Government and other Telecoms providers.CEO of Digicel Bermuda Wayne Caines also pointed out the new long distance service had been found to be legal by the Supreme Court after last week's hearings in which TBI challenged it and CellOne objected to providing interconnection.Digicel's comments appear to set up another legal showdown in Supreme Court, when Government is expected on Thursday to finally weigh in on the dispute.“Digicel wishes to remind the public that the VoIP long distance service offered by Transact, which is now part of the Digicel Group of Companies, is completely legal,” Mr Caines said in a statement provided to The Royal Gazette.“This service was found legal by the Supreme Court, which invited the Government to object within seven days. The Government has notified the Court that it would like to be heard in the dispute. At this time, the details of the Government's position remain unknown.“We will continue to provide this lawful service. We would like to clarify that this VoIP long distance service provided by Transact is essentially the same as that provided by North Rock Communications and Logic, which is currently available to mobile users of both Digicel and CellOne.”However, Minister of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Walter Roban last week came out against the court decision effectively ordering CellOne to provide interconnection to Digicel customers who signed up for the new long distance service offered through Transact.A statement from the Minister said Government's position remained that companies holding more than one licence must operate those licences separately.Representatives of the Government, Digicel, Transact, CellOne and TBI are all expected to attend a new hearing on the dispute scheduled for Thursday before Judge Ian Kawaley.Separately, Mr Roban is holding a news conference this afternoon to talk about proposed telecoms regulatory reform, which is expected to open up the industry and allow bundling.Digicel's CEO Mr. Caines also told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “Transact and Digicel welcome competition, as we believe this will allow the customer to receive the best service with the best value.“Already, both long distance incumbents have reduced their prices to compete with our long distance prices launched on October 13. The ultimate winner is the customer who, because of the competition that has ensued due to our entrance into the long distance market, is now able to benefit from better prices market wide.“We sincerely hope the Government will share the same view as the Supreme Court once all the facts have been examined thoroughly.”On Friday, TBI unveiled new lower long distance plans including unlimited calling to the US, Canada, and UK for $34.95 on landlines or wireless.CellOne said on Friday it viewed the Government's filing of its intent to be heard to mean that the recent order requiring that interconnection be provided after seven days will not take effect until further Order of the Court.“Although the issue is not yet fully resolved as it subject to a future hearing it does point to the Ministers of Government agreeing with CellOne's stated position on the issue, namely, that a Class C ISP such as Transact cannot offer long distance service to mobile subscribers,” CellOne said Friday. “This indeed confirms that the rules of the game have not changed.”In a separate case, TBI had taken action against Digicel to try to stop it from offering the new long distance service, saying it was not complying with its licence.That case was cut short after Digicel said the new long distance was being offered through Internet service provider and sister company Transact.Digicel lawyer Victor Lyon QC had argued: ”Our defence is very simple, Digicel is not offering customers long-distance calls, Transact is.”He presented supporting documents to show, he claimed, that Government had approved the deal and new service.