workers would be sacked within a year and the company would be wound up.

And the Telecommunications Commission had questioned the accuracy of BTC figures for years, a source close to the Commission said last night.

Meanwhile, the wrangle has had a costly toll on BTC shares with demand spiralling to its lowest point in a year yesterday as investors only offered $18 per share -- showing their lack of confidence in BTC management.

BTC vice president Gary Edwards defended his comments that the company could be forced to close but said: "The Commission shouldn't be revealing this sort of stuff.

"Our position is we're not prepared to discuss financial figures with the Commission through the press.'' BTC under fire from Commission Talking exclusively to The Royal Gazette the Commission source dismissed predictions made by BTC finance and administration vice president Gary Edwards that the company would make a loss of about $2 million by March 2000.

"BTC wants Bermuda to believe that the Commission went too far in its January judgment. ..and that if it is allowed to continue, it will drive the company into bankruptcy in the name of political correctness,'' he said.

"That is a self-serving and distorted version of the truth. The Commission's decision was based on financial figures supplied to it by none other than BTC itself.'' The law puts the burden of proof on BTC to show why the public should have to bear the burden of rate increases and justify the hikes, he said.

"The figures BTC gave the Commission did not demonstrate that the award the Commission made would cause a loss for this year.'' "Frankly, the Commission has known for years that BTC's figures are... well, let's put it this way, this year's set of figures seldom seem to have much to do with those they submitted last year. Where have the figures they use to forecast a loss of $2 million come from? What are the financial facts they are relying on?'' He said at least one of BTC's projections -- they would lose 27 percent of the market during the year to Quantum -- was thought "overly pessimistic''.

"That is a figure which the Commission thought was very high, especially given the tremendous delay which BTC itself has caused to the launch of Quantum's business.

"Does their $2 million loss take that projected loss into account?'' "How can a company which declares a $30 million dividend for its shareholders in one breath claim in almost the next breath that the Commission is hounding it into bankruptcy? "That is something straight out of Alice in Wonderland.'' In the hearings the Commission questioned why BTC had again failed to provide a complete plan for the rejigging of its rates in the wake of the long distance access fee cuts which it had known about for three years, he said.

And BTC asked the Commission, when considering their proposed drastic rate hikes, to take into account BTC's liability for $2.3 million in annual interest paid on a $30 million special dividend payment to shareholders.

But the Commission had not been convinced by BTC's case that the dividend indirectly benefited telephone subscribers.

"Instead the Commission saw it as a benefit only to shareholders and saw no reason why subscribers should pay for it in addition to paying for the reduction in long distance access rates which BTC can charge,'' he said.

"In its ruling it said it had therefore discounted this expense in assessing what increases telephone subscribers should bear.''