Defiant Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb yesterday said there would be no backing down by Government in its stand-off with cable company CableVision.

And if improved service levels are not agreed by tomorrow, subscribers could face a second TV blackout.

Ms Webb was off the Island on Friday when the company was successful in having an injunction forcing it to operate, lifted. The injunction had been filed by the Ministry and its overturning resulted in CableVision cutting off service at 8 p.m. on Friday.

The blackout lasted two hours before Acting Minister Alex Scott stepped in and asked the company to have a five day cooling off period. And he assured CableVision it would not face sanctions for operating without a licence during that time.

CableVision had warned days before that if the injunction was removed it would not operate, because it would be carrying on business without a licence and therefore violating the law. CableVision's licence expired on August 31. The Ministry had offered a one year licence renewal, but CableVision refused, saying that it needed another 15-year licence.

At a press conference yesterday Ms Webb insisted that CableVision would have to improve its level of service before she would entertain a lengthening of the licence.

She said a draft copy of the Service Level Agreement the company planned to institute had reached her desk and that she expected final agreement would come by the Wednesday deadline.

Ms Webb said the Ministry never wanted to shutdown CableVision and only issued the one year licence as a means to ensure that the company's service improved. She said she did not feel the situation had reached a stalemate but added "there is no way that we are going to bow to them".

"The sole purpose of the Ministry in requesting this injunction was to provide additional time to complete the agreed process of establishing a service level agreement and in so doing, protect the public, and more specifically, CableVision subscribers from being placed in a situation where CableVision would be forced to shutdown services because the licence had expired," she said.

But Ms Webb would not be drawn on the length of time she would be to willing renew the licence for, should the service level agreement meet the Ministry's requirements.

And CableVision did not have much new to say yesterday, but pointed out that it was prepared to put conditions on its licence to ensure that it meets certain requirements. While not willing disclose the type of conditions it was willing to have included in its licence, the company said it had made the offer back in August but that the Ministry had turned it down.

"It is clearly not the intention of the Ministry to be heavy handed, nor have we been, with any of our carriers," Ms Webb said. "However, it can be difficult at times where a company believes that because they currently have a monopoly, they can disadvantage the general public to further their negotiations within the Ministry."

Asked how she felt on the injunction being overturned, Ms Webb said that she had not been given bad advice. She said that Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller who made the ruling, had only looked at one clause in the Act.

Ms Webb said that the section which reads: 'A CTV licence for a System shall continue in force for such period of not less than ten years as the Minister may decide and may be renewed.' relates to ten years only in the issuance of new licences. And she no law would force a Ministry to grant licences.