ERROR RG P4 24.6.1994 A story yesterday on the Telecommunications Commission report mistakenly put Mr. Michael Leverock and Mr. Brian Alkon in the same company. Mr. Leverock represents Global Access Bermuda and Mr. Alkon represents Bermuda Global Access.

Global Access Bermuda has hit back at accusations that its service would be "cream skimming'' from the Island's major telephone monopoly.

And the company claims the report of the Telecommunications Commission is a "smokescreen'' to aid the continued monopoly of Telco and Cable & Wireless.

The Telecommunications Commission report is to be considered by the Minister, Sen. the Hon. Grant Gibbons. It recommended refusal of callback and resale systems which were put forward by GAB.

The report pointed out that, with the exceptions of large markets like the United States and United Kingdom, callback and resale are prohibited elsewhere in the world. They both provide opportunities for callers to make contact, using existing facilities, with phone companies in other countries and then make international calls at cheaper rates than normal.

Cream skimming is mentioned in the report, meaning taking money-making services, like international calls, leaving Telco to deal with local calls which are not profitable on the whole.

Both GAB president Mr. Brian Alkon and founder Mr. Michael Leverock have written to the Commission about its proposed refusal of the services.

Mr. Alkon said: "I, personally, resent the term cream skimmers being used by the Commission and the former Telecommunications Minister, Mr. Winfield, in regards to our application.

"My wife and I were committed to a $1 million investment to helped develop an alternative telecommunications system at competitive prices.'' Mr. Alkon pointed out that GAB was backed by one of the United States's biggest telecommunications groups, the People's Telephone Company.

Mr. Leverock said: "GAB was set up to provide an economical alternative for the Bermuda public. It was only after consultation with the Ministry of Telecommunications that the business was actually started.

"For one month prior to our first customers being put on the line, public presentations were held, the very first of which was attended by senior Telco officers and C&W representatives. GAB's activities were conducted openly in a professional manner, with a tremendous amount of news media coverage.'' Mr. Alkon believed Government misunderstood GAB's proposal and they were willing to enter the market at any level.

His associate added: "GAB concurs that Bermuda does need a firm, state-of-the-art, and economical telecommunications infrastructure.

"This can be achieved with the introduction of competition, and has been proven recently with the introduction of lower rates and new services by the existing carriers since the threat of potential competitors.'' GAB agreed that the introduction of competition should be done as guardedly as possible, because the local market can only sustain a limited number of service providers.

Mr. Alkon said: "What I see is a smoke screen. Bermuda is one out of eight to 11 countries who have an absolute monopoly in the telecommunications field.

"I see the Telephone Company applying for international calls; I see Cable & Wireless getting the domestic call business and the same monopolistic group (who were sworn to be competitive at inception, but are really involved with the true cream skimming), continuing to subjugate the market and to pass nothing on to the consumer.

"Everywhere else in the world, the price of calls is dropping. Only in Bermuda have prices always been on the increase, until this year. Only after there were eight applications to do telecommunications service, did they think to drop their prices nominally.''