Bermuda.

Business Systems Ltd. of Par-La-Ville Road has applied to the Telecommunications Department for permission to offer the service. A public hearing is expected in February.

BSL said it would be the first E-mail service based in Bermuda.

"With international business being of such significant importance to the Bermuda economy, implementation of such a service is seen not only as a benefit to Bermuda, but essential to its participation and growth in the international marketplace,'' said Mr. Paul Ryan, head of BSL's information technology division.

The service is to be offered in three phases, with the first targeted for this spring.

It would involve an Island-wide switching facility allowing users to exchange electronic mail with other Bermudian companies or individuals. BSL also intends to provide centralised mailbox facilities for exchange of parcels.

Phase two would include international E-mail through the huge Internet network. Phase three, later in the year, would extend the service to the full range of Internet offerings, like access to information databases.

With more than 30,000 computer networks linking more than 1.5 million computers, Internet is the largest of its kind. Through Internet, more than 15 million people in over 200 countries send and receive E-mail, engage in discussion groups, and gain access to information.

Mr. Tony Harriott, BSL's network services manager, said the company was investing more than $500,000 in equipment to get the service started.

Many Bermudians hooked into computer networks in the United States, but they would save money by going through BSL locally, Mr. Harriott said.

BSL's equipment would allow it to send and receive information much more quickly than an individual could on a personal computer, Mr. Harriott said.

Instead of moving 2,400 bytes of information per second, BSL's computer would move 56,000 bytes per second. That would mean major savings in long-distance charges.

Users would pay a monthly fee. In some cases, there would also be user charges.

"What makes the Internet unique is that it is a two-way communications medium,'' Mr. Harriott said. "It gives users the ability to respond immediately to their marketplace and select information services or contact suppliers of goods and services.''