Jose Manuel Luna Valiente, manager of the radio station department of Indotel, the government agency that regulates telecommunications in the DR, said 30 stations have been shut down following a first operation. Luna said they have shut down 12 stations in San Pedro de Macoris, 7 in La Romana and 11 in Higuey. The government recently appointed former Attorney General Mariano Germán to the post, and he has taken action, responding positively to the request of the Asociación Dominicana de Radiodifusoras (Adora) to shut down illegally operating radio stations. Indotel is proceeding based on results of the Censo Nacional de los Usuarios del Espectro, a nationwide census of radio stations in operation dated 16 June. Indotel now moves north, where the Census shows there are 52 stations operating illegally. Indotel has been in the news because the new government opposes the appointment of Mariano Germán on grounds that the appointment though legal was not ethical, as the choice of the director should have been left to the new government. The Fernández administration appointed Germán less than three months prior to turning in the helm to the Mejía administration. Millions of dollars in business decisions as well as political interests are at stake as Indotel has the charter to regulate the telecommunications business in the DR.
