Wayne W. (f.y.o) Official count 318 Radio Stations

A couple of days ago a nice gentleman called Wayne W.of Sobeluvr@aol.com publicly challenged in this board information I posted regarding how far behind was Costa Rica in terms of communications in comparison to the Dominican Republic. Little did Mr.Wayne W. know that I live only a few blocks away from INDOTEL on Lincoln Avenue in the Piantini sector. and that I can get the smallest detail about any Radio Station I wish at my fingetips. Actually, when I wrote the piece I was already a little behind on the latest information and I undercounted. I gave the number of Radio Stations as 300, but since my last check it was officially reported at 318! Mr. Wayne W. said that I made up the figures and he corrected me saying that there are 120 AM stations and only 56 FM Stations for a total of 176. Well, maybe he just missed the 137 AM stations, because only the FM count is 181 for a total of 318. But what is even more amazing, is that Mr. Jorge Mera, Indotel Director recently reported that his count does not include Radio Stations that have not cleared their license status and that proximately the number will increase dramatically. Below are some other facts that will scare the hell out of Costa Rica and those who wish to underestimate and put down the Dominican Republic : FACTS(from Indotel, The Official Department of Communications in the Dominican Republic-Address:Ave.Lincoln 932, Piantini, Santo Domingo:

1)Total population Dominican Republic= 8,553,744
2)Total number telephone lines=894,164
3)Total density telephone lines=10.5
4)total number of cellular lines=705,431
5)total density cellular lines=8.2
6)total number of beepers=134,247
7)Total telephone lines including cellulars=1,599,595
8)total density all lines(beepers not included)=18.7%
9)Internet lines=52,761 for a growth of 70%

If anyone feels that these figures are made up by me, please feel free to call Instituto Dominicano de Telecomunicaciones at 732-3902,732-7191/92/93 and let me know right here in this forum that I am wrong, and I promise I will apologize to everyone in big capital letters. And I also venture to say, and the truth will bear me out in the future, that the number of cellular lines, counting unregistered equipment run with call cards and other means exceed the number of regular telephone lines and that the density exceeds 25%, but that in truth the phone coverage by all Dominicans, meaning that more than one person has access to every telecommunications equipment is the highest in all Latin America and ranks with the great powers. Lets have some challenges? In addition, I will try to verify soon information I have been given, that the Dominican Republic may have more radio stations than the whole continent of Europe.

Confusing quantity with quality.

There may well be 318 radio stations in the DR, but none that I can find that play classical music. Lots of redundancy. Bachata and Merengue. The DR also has several TV channels. WOW, what world class programming! My favorite is where they read me the daily newspapers. CNN should pick up on that idea.

The reason that there are so many cell phones versus regular phone lines is that Codetel charges a huge installation fee for a home phone and requires a guarantor. All this because the cell phone service is so much more profitable.

I got so fed up with the poor service, dead zones, and excessive cost of maintaining my cell phone that I gave it to a poor Dominican in Santo Domingo who couldn't even afford his own house and had to live in a condominium.

Re: Confusing quantity with quality.

When I lived in Santo Domingo, there was a radio station that only played classical music. I wonder what happened to it? TV Channels? The DR does not have as many as the US, but more than most other countries I have visited. On top of that there is cable TV everywhere, so you can get not just the Dominican channels but all the US channels as well, and cheaper. Cell phone service may be spotty, but there's probably better coverage than in most other countries in Latin America. As a matter of fact I think that the service in the DR is a lot more reasonable than in the US. In the DR, for instance you can have a phone activated with calling cards where you don't get charged unless you make the call. Here in the US you get charged whenever you talk, regardless of whether you made the call or somebody else called you.

Re: Confusing quantity with quality.

Cable TV is the answer. On Saturdays I am embarassed to turn on the TV and see scantily clad pre teen girls gyrating on stage.
I don't remember the name of the program. Sabado Chiquito for pedophiles or something like that.

Still the DR has come a long way. In 1975 there was one TV chanel which was government controlled. When it came on, you could watch one hour of commercials followed by a few hours of commercial free programming. Much of it was political. Balaguer giving keys to "viviendas" to poor Dominicans, etc. Cable was only a dream then.

The best thing about those days was that you could sit on the Maximo Gomez and the 27 de fevrero, have a one peso beer, and watch the occasional car weave around the burros. No traffic. When I saw a campesino on a burro calling his wife on a cell phone, I knew those days were over. He probably has a Firebird convertible and a condo now.

One reason I gave away my cell phone was that 350 pesos of credit disappeared because I didn't make enough calls to use it up in a 30 or 60 day period. Does this happen in the US too? I came here before cell phones were popular.

Re: Wayne W. (f.y.o) Official count 318 Radio Stat

Sounds liked you are really ticked Tourist Watcher that somebody might be doing their homework and showing up your bogus numbers on everything. I just researched too on the REDDOMINICA web site. It appear that Wayne W.'s numbers are more accurate on the number of radio stations. Hey....!! Might be 300 radio stations in the U.S.S.R, but not the DR. Keep trying though.

Re: Confusing quantity with quality.

That just goes to show you that people are willing to say anything without proof and sometimes get away with it. For those of you that are interested, in the Dominican Republic there are radio stations catering to every type of international music. From classical to new age, from classic rock to techno, ane even ethnic music from other nations, plus jazz, tango and even oriental music.

In fact, most Dominican Hit Parades are topped by foreign music. The Top 20 are almost identical to the top 20 USA in any category. Dominican Republic has brought in International acts and filled to capacity at quite expensive ticket prices major auditoriums and concert fields. We recently had Duran Duran and there was not a vacancy on site. And yes we have Bachata and Merengue and the United States has Rap and Country music. Whats the difference? You say Bachata is for the poor people and the campesinos, well, Country music is for the hillbillies.

Re: Nony Mouse continues barrage of misinformation

You continue trying to deceive people who have never been to Santo Domingo with your false information. First of: 1 TV Station in 1975 according to you? Well, listen, not in 1975, but in 1960 we had channel 4 Radio TV Dominicana, Channel 9, Channel 7, and Channel 13. Want to check that out?

And if Cable TV is your answer to your high morality what do you watch on Cable TV that has any morality? Mostly Dominican TV is a copy of American and Mexican TV, all sex. You picked the worng medium if you still want to stay virgin. And what were you doing watching Sabado Chiquito?

The only reason I see you gave up your cell phone is because you cant afford it or a even a nice car to drive on Maximo Gomez Avenue today. Stop bringing up the past. You want to be here in Dominican Republic bring some cash. You are out of your league. Otherwise, why are you so concerned about posting on this board? Are you enviuos because you cant live in this country? You dont see me posting in a US1, or Britain 1, or France 1 do you? What the hell do I care about what you are doing in your country, wherever that is?