Bermuda offers cheaper overseas telecommunications rates compared with rival jurisdictions in the Caribbean, according to a recent survey.

The survey was done by the faxed monthly newsletter Offshore Alert, which covers Bermuda and the Caribbean.

While rates have generally fallen in many islands since April 1997, the letter states, Bermuda has by far the most competitive rates.

"The gap between Bermuda and the pack remains huge largely due to the introduction of competition for international calls,'' the article states.

The article states that TeleBermuda offers the cheapest rates in the region, followed by the company it was licensed to compete with, Cable and Wireless.

"A typical bill for a small business that communicates mostly with the US but also regularly contacts Canada, the UK, Europe, Asia and Latin America is bout 34 percent more expensive in the next cheapest island, the British Virgin Islands,than in Bermuda, using the services of TeleBermuda International,'' the article states.

The situation with telecommunications in the Cayman Islands has reached such a point that the Cayman newspaper, the Caymanian Compass, have been flooded with letters of complaint.

According to the survey, Cayman is the most expensive offshore centre to make international telecommunications transmissions during office hours and is generally 60 percent more expensive than TeleBermuda.

The article states: "The next most expensive island is the Bahamas, which does not even have the offsetting factor of offering a decent quality service that is one of Cable & Wireless' redeeming features.

"The hissing lines and distorted faxes that plagued customers of the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation when Offshore Alert carried out its first survey 34 months ago are still a problem, as are waiting times of several months simply to have a line installed.'' Offshore Alert surveyed 12 offshore centres in the region. The survey shows that Cable and Wireless are the largest service providers in the region and operates either on its own or in partnership in nine of the territories.

"Although the introduction of competition in Bermuda over the last two year has pushed down overseas rates, Cable & Wireless has also reduced rates in islands where there is no competition as they have responded to a growing tide of resentment over high rates.'' The survey takes into account a mixture of calls to different country and is based on 10 hours to the USA, 2 hours to Canada, 2 hours to the UK, 2 hours to Europe, 2 hours to Latin America and 2 hours to Asia.

The total cost came out with Cayman, $1,980, Bahamas, $1,938, Barbados, $1,937, Grenada, $1,760, Turks & Caicos Islands $1,739, Dominica, $1,736, Anguilla, $1,730, Antigua, $1,692, St Kitts & Nevis, $$1,692, St Vincent, $1,683, British Virgin Islands, $1,662, Bermuda Cable and Wireless $1,325, and Bermuda TeleBermuda, $1,238.

The cost for the same number of calls from the United States would cost only $126.

CHART BERMUDA V. THE REST The survey based on ten hours to the USA, 2 hours to Canada, 2 hours to the UK, 2 hours to Europe, 2 hours to Latin America and 2 hours to Asia: Cayman ---- $1,980 Bahamas ---- $1,938 Barbados ---- $1,937 Grenada ---- $1,760 Turks & Caicos Islands ---- $1,739 Dominica ---- $1,736 Anguilla ---- $1,730 Antigua ---- $1,692 St Kitts & Nevis ---- $1,692 St Vincent ---- $1,683 British Virgin Islands ---- $1,662 Bermuda Cable and Wireless ---- $1,325 Bermuda TeleBermuda ---- $1,238 The cost for the same number of calls from the United States would cost only $126.