Bermuda Telephone Company is expected to lose more than three quarters of a million dollars this year in their operation of payphones.

And if nothing is done to reverse the trend, it could mean an end to payphones on the Island.

The information is revealed in a September 1 internal report obtained by The Royal Gazette .

Compiled by a BTC marketing analyst, the BTC Paystation Division's Business Plan showed projected expenses for this year (1999/2000) to be $1,323,904.

Income in the same period is expected to be $544,000, leaving the company with a whopping loss of $779,904.

Much of the blame for the problem is attributed to a charge which is held to be out of line with the current time.

While BTC hold the monopoly in the market they are being forced to look at a number of options to rectify the problem. Alternatives include increasing the cost of a call, having time limits, renting payphones, leasing them and selling them.

The options are such that several could be implemented together. For example, the current cost of a call could be raised from the flat 20 cents to 35 cents for 3.5 minutes with additional costs for every minute.

According to the report, revenues would see marked increases.

Only 105 of the 680 BTC payphones, are accessible 24 hours a day. The remaining 575 are located in buildings and businesses that are not open continuously.

BTC currently install and maintain all paystations, but the report reveals revenues could be increased to as much as a half a million dollars, by charging a monthly rate to businesses which house them.

Many restaurants, pubs and clubs would be hit with the expense. Monthly fees of $62.50, $70.00 and $75.00 are being looked at.

BTC have also investigated a lease-to-own alternative for owners of properties with semi-public phones. This, combined with a maintenance contract, would also see a marked increase in revenue for BTC.

The report pointed out that BTC could sell the phones outright and for continued revenue enter into maintenance contracts with the owners.

Asked about the report, a BTC spokesperson would go no further than to say: "As with any of our lines of business, we are always looking at ways to reduce expenses and increase our revenue and our profitability.'' The spokesperson refused to comment on which, if any, of the options contained in the report will be adopted.

Meanwhile, the analyst pointed out in the report that local payphone charges were not in line with other jurisdictions.

"While the costs of postage stamps (20 cents to 35 cents), newspapers (30 cents to 70 cents), bus fares ($2 to $4) and a can of soda from a vending machine (75 cents to $1) have nearly doubled, the cost of a local pay phone call has not changed since July 1983 when it increased from 10 cents to 20 cents.'' The analyst also noted that Bahamas Tel charge 20 cents for each five minutes a caller is on the line.