Government has come out against forcing CellOne to provide interconnection to Digicel-Transact’s new long-distance service.A statement from CellOne said on Friday that the Attorney General’s Chambers, on behalf of Environment Minister Walter Roban, filed in the Supreme Court their intention to appear in opposition to Digicel-Transact’s recent application for an injunction mandating the provision of long distance interconnection to CellOne customers.In his ruling on the injunction last Tuesday, Puisne Judge Ian Kawaley essentially put the ball in the Government’s court, urging specifically the Minister of Tourism and International Business Patrice Minors and/or Mr Roban, to speak up within seven days if they didn’t believe what Digicel was doing was within its licence. If not, then he ruled CellOne must provide interconnection.Government announced on Friday that it had notified the Court that it wanted to be heard in the ongoing legal dispute between the telecoms providers.“Telecommunications (Bermuda & West Indies) Ltd (trading as Digicel) has a Class B Telecommunications Licence, authorising it to provide wireless voice services,” said Government in its statement.“Transact, with a Class C Telecommunications Licence, is authorised to provide Internet services. Digicel has begun the process of providing long distance service following its recent acquisition of Transact Limited.“This move has caused consternation within the telecommunications industry, with carriers seeking relief and clarification from the Courts. The Government re-iterates its position that it has not changed its policies regarding telecommunications licences. Its position remains that companies holding more than one licence must operate those licences separately.”Government also reiterated that due to the rapid pace of technological development and the imminent reform of the telecommunications laws, the outcome of the litigation would key to the future of Bermuda and went well beyond the immediate commercial disputes, to which it was not currently a party.CellOne said on Friday it views the Government’s filing to mean that the recent Court Order requiring that interconnection be provided after seven days will not take effect until further Order of the Supreme 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,” the CellOne statement added.“This indeed confirms that the rules of the game have not changed,” stated Frank Amaral, chief operating officer for CellOne.“At CellOne we continue to support regulatory reform and look forward to offering more services to our customers. This specific situation has been about operating within the confines of the regulations and maintaining a level playing field.“We applaud the Bermuda Government for coming out and stating that it wishes to be heard in these proceedings in opposition to Digicel.”