Digicel yesterday criticised statements by the Opposition in an increasingly rancorous public battle over its launch of international long distance.The cellphone provider said Shadow Telecoms Minister Cole Simons’ views that a letter of approval to Digicel from Government was “ultra vires” and “not authorised” were “manifestly inaccurate”.Digicel charged: “Significant investors in Bermuda are entitled to expect that when Government grants approvals, it means what it says.”The company continued: “Digicel is most appreciative of the interest shown in this matter by Mr Simons and by the Opposition,” the Digicel statement yesterday afternoon said. “However, some of the statements made by Mr Simons appear to be based on fundamental misapprehensions that Digicel believes ought to be set straight.“Mr Simons stated that a letter provided to Digicel by the Department of Telecommunications on 20 October 2011 ‘which authorised the purchase of Transact by Digicel Limited by then Minister Walter Roban may not have been authorised’. Mr Simons went on to state that ‘the October 20, 2011 letter was ultra vires, in that it was not authorised in accordance with the Telecommunications Act and Government’s General Orders’. Neither statement is actually correct, either in fact or in law. “Digicel said the letter was, in fact, “a culmination of a lengthy process, which took place between last July and October, whereby “Digicel’s purchase of Transact for the purpose of providing long distance service was expressly and unambiguously approved by Government”.“Indeed, Digicel first wrote to the Government (through the Minister of Finance) as early as 4 July 2011 and clearly set out that it was seeking Government approval to purchase Transact for the purposes of providing long distance services.“Under a section in its letter entitled ‘Business to be carried on’, Digicel expressly stated: ’The amalgamation will enable Digicel to carry international traffic to all customers and to provide fixed DSL services alongside existing mobile data customers’.“In explicitly setting out Digicel’s plans for Transact, this letter of 4 July includes a specific section entitled ‘Long Distance Telecommunications Services’, which also clearly sets out that Digicel wished to provide international long distance services through Transact and provided detail as to how Digicel intended to do so if Government approval was received for ILD. As such, it was abundantly clear from the very outset of Digicel’s interaction with Government what Digicel was seeking approval for. It could not have been any clearer. Government knew exactly what Digicel was seeking approval for and provided its approval on that basis.“Contrary to what has been stated by Mr Simons, Digicel’s approval was actually provided by Government at a recorded meeting involving Digicel and the Department of Telecommunications on 16 September 2011.”Digicel continued: “It could be suggested that the impression created by Mr Simons’ statement is that some individual Civil Servant should be blamed and held accountable for improperly writing the letter of 20 October 2011 and that this letter alone has caused the present controversy. This is simply not the case. It should be noted that this letter was copied on its face to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy, Dr. Derrick Binns and to the Telecommunications Commission. So, in fact, the following Government Representatives that were involved in the four month process in which Digicel was expressly approved to provide long distance service included (at a minimum): The Minister of Finance, Dr. Derrick Binns; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy, Patricia DeShields; Acting Director of Telecommunications, Michael Wells; Department of Telecommunications, Hiram Edwards; Department of Telecommunications, Mr Melvin Douglas; Solicitor General.“This approval of Digicel’s long distance services through Transact was no solo run on the part of some rogue or misguided member of the Department of Telecommunications. Any efforts to blame such an individual or create a scapegoat are without merit.”Digicel concluded: “Digicel’s approval of its long distance services, although amply evidenced by the letter of 20 October 2011, was actually considerably more involved and substantive than the issuing of a single letter by an individual Civil Servant. It was a process that took place over several months and was only resiled on by Government once legal action was taken in respect of Digicel’s long distance service by Digicel’s competitors.“Mr Simons’ comments would tend to suggest that a critical letter written by the Government of Bermuda to a major international investor concerning a critical and financially significant Government approval should somehow be dismissed out of hand. His comments would suggest that such letters from the Bermudian Government are not worth the paper they are written on; this simply cannot be the case. Significant investors in Bermuda are entitled to expect that when Government grants approvals, it means what it says.”