phone operations until early next year, principal shareholder Kurt Eve said yesterday. The company had planned to begin competing in the local cellular telephone market this summer. Bermuda Digital is currently in negotiations with a large "international'' telecommunications company to take an equity stake, Mr. Eve said. That company is not Cable & Wireless Plc., he said.

"We are anxious to get the joint venture agreement wrapped up,'' he said. He expects the deal to be completed within ten days. Negotiations are also underway with the Bermuda Telephone Co. Ltd. (BTC), Cable & Wireless, and TeleBermuda International Ltd. over providing interconnections.

Usually competing telecommunications firms pay each other a transfer fee when one company passes a call from its customer through another company to their customer.

Bermuda Digital estimates it would be passing on 60 percent of its calls to BTC, while BTC would be passing on 40 percent. This means in the balance Bermuda Digital would end up owing money to BTC.