Members of the public will be invited to have their say on Government?s proposals for the future of the telecommunications industry in a public meeting on Thursday evening.

But some telecommunications companies have asked for the meeting to be put back at least two weeks to give interested parties the opportunity to digest the details of planned changes.

The planned reforms include scrapping the 60:40 ownership rule to give companies access to the foreign investment capital they might need to provide the Island with the latest technology.

Under the proposal, the industry?s current licensing regime is also set to be dismantled.

Currently companies are granted a licence to operate in one category, such as internet or cellular phone services. The plan put forward by the Ministry of Environment, Telecommunications and E-Commerce (METEC) proposes a single unified licence, giving operators the chance to offer a range of services.

The aim of the changes is to encourage competition, leading to better services, with cutting edge technology, and lower prices for consumers.

But the proposals have met with a mixed response from the industry. Three internet service providers told they believed the dropping of the 60:40 rule could rapidly wipe out local ownership in telecommunications and lead to a duopoly or monopoly. And former Telecommunications Minister E.T. (Bob) Richards said the reform plan could undo much of the progress made since his actions in the mid-1990s broke Cable & Wireless?s monopoly in the Bermuda market.

Representatives of two internet service providers said they had been informed of the meeting late yesterday afternoon and called for a postponement.

Jamie Thain, chief executive officer of Igility, parent company of Transact, said he had been informed of the meeting at 4.10 p.m. yesterday by e-mail.

And Vicki Coelho, general manager of North Rock Communications said she had been told during a conversation on another business matter with a METEC official, shortly before 5 p.m.

METEC sent out a short press release on the meeting last Thursday afternoon, but it received minimal coverage from local media.

?We would like more time to see how our customers feel about these proposals and to make sure they have a chance to have their say,? Mr. Thain said.

?Three days? notice is not a reasonable amount of time to give people the chance to take in what?s in a 90-page document. We would like to see it put back 10 to 14 days.

?It?s not well organised. The concern is that the Government is trying to ram this proposal through.?

Ms Coelho echoed Mr. Thain?s concerns. ?North Rock approached the Ministry two-and-a-half weeks ago to determine the date of the public meeting, because a number of customers wanted to know,? she said.

?I requested that the meeting be postponed and put back to the 15th, but I was told that will not occur. I don?t see why it could not easily be postponed to give the public more time.

?I am very disappointed because this is a very significant event to the future of telecommunications, which is key to our international business sector and to the way we live.?

The public meeting is scheduled to take place at Cathedral Hall in Hamilton on Thursday, starting at 5.30 p.m.

A Government spokesman said there would be a short presentation to explain the proposals and the reasoning behind them. The public would then get a chance to ask questions of a panel of experts and to express their views, he added.

Documents spelling out the plans can be downloaded from the Government protal at www.gov.bm, under Telecommunications. Look for Telecommunications Regulatory Reform in Bermuda.