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Campaign Demands Telecoms Unlock the FM Radio Found in Many Smartphones (www.cbc.ca)

Posted by msmash on from the radio-wants-to-be-free dept.

An anonymous reader cites an article on CBC: Your smartphone may include an FM radio chip but, chances are, it doesn't work. Now, an online campaign has launched in Canada, putting pressure on telecoms and manufacturers to turn on the radio hidden in many cellphones. Titled, "free radio on my phone," the campaign says that most Android smartphones have a built-in FM receiver which doesn't require data or Wi-Fi to operate. The U.S. arm of the campaign believes iPhones also have a built-in radio chip but that it can't be activated. Apple wouldn't confirm this detail. The radio chip in many Android phones also lies dormant. But the campaign says it can easily be activated -- if telecom providers ask the manufacturers to do it. In Canada, however, most of the telecoms haven't made the move to get the radio turned on. They'd prefer that you stream your audio, depleting your phone's costly data plan, claims campaign organizer, Barry Rooke.

4 of 340 comments (clear)

  1. FM radio's last gasp? by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder how much of this is actual consumer demand for listening to ads and the same songs every hour to avoid data overages vs. FM radio's last desperate gasp to remain relevant now that streaming is offering an alternative?

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    1. Re:FM radio's last gasp? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I disagree - and there are tested historical facts to show my point.
      At 9/11, the cell towers couldn't handle the load and basically cell
      phones became useless as communication devices. And with no
      data, no "FM" app would work either.

      Now, an analogue FM radio won't allow you to phone home, but
      with an emergency like that, you'd at least be able to get some
      sort of news, maybe helpful information about the event. And it's
      not like the chips in the phone are defective FM receivers, they
      are intentionally disabled by iApple (and other like-manufacturers)
      to force you to use an app to gain that functionality. Sadly, users
      believe that the app is the FM receiver and they're not corrected
      by the salesman.

      I'd like to see this as an FCC mandate (that cell phones are required to
      have a non-app working FM receiver) since it really is a public safety issue.
      That's just common sense, IMHO.

      CAP === 'invented'

  2. Safety by captaindomon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I do some safety consulting for disasters etc. This would be very helpful for disasters. You could even have an app that just tunes into the local emergency FM frequency. It's way easier to broadcast emergency instructions over FM to three million people in a metro area, than to support three million active streams over a data network, especially in an emergency.

    --
    Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
  3. It's not just software by larwe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sure, many integrated WiFi/BT chipsets also include an FM receiver. But turning it on, in a phone that wasn't shipped with it turned on, is not just a software matter. With the LO powered up, you'll need to repeat conducted and radiated emissions tests. And if the phone wasn't intended to be shipped with the radio enabled, the necessary passives to connect it to the earphone jack as an antenna likely won't be on the PCB. And in the case of Apple, since they absolutely never intended to use the FM capability, I'd be amazed if the relevant pads from the WiFi package are even led out to traces.