Vitor Abdala
Repórter da Agência Brasil

Rio – This year the telecommunications regulatory agency (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações) (Anatel) has stepped up its policing of illegal (clandestine) radio stations. So far this year 1,199 of them have been taken off the air. That works out to around 200 per month. And is much more than last year when 1,807 were closed down during the whole year.

Anatel estimates that there are almost 4,500 clandestine radio stations operating in the country. Edilson Ribeiro dos Santos, a superintendent at Anatel, says that the illegal radio stations interfere with legal stations, as well as air traffic communications.

Translator: Allen Bennett