FCC Chairman Wants It To Be Easier To Listen To Free FM Radio On Your Smartphone (recode.net)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Recode: Your smartphone has an FM radio in it, only it's unlikely that you're able to use it. That's because in the U.S., less than half of phones actually have the FM tuner turned on. But FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who just recently assumed the top position at the regulatory agency under President Trump, thinks that should change. In remarks made to the North American Broadcasters Association yesterday, Pai said that it's a public safety issue. Both the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Association and an FCC advisory panel on public safety have advocated for turning on the FM radio capabilities in smartphones, since radio is a reliable source of information when internet or cellphone networks go down in severe weather. Although Pai thinks smartphones should have the FM chip turned on, he doesn't think the government should mandate it: "As a believer in free markets and the rule of law, I cannot support a government mandate requiring activation of these chips. I don't believe the FCC has the power to issue a mandate like that, and more generally I believe it's best to sort this issue out in the marketplace."

Comments

Re:FM not as common as the article sounds.

[tlhIngan]

The way they write this makes it sound like nearly all phones have an FM chip/capability already built-in, which I believe is actually quite far from the truth. Its only a few specific models.

Well, the chips to do it tend to be everywhere - WiFi and Bluetooth chips tend to be triple duty with FM radio thrown in because it isn't hard to add.

The real issue is whether or not it's actually hooked up - usually they aren't. So the phone may have the hardware for it, but not actually be wired up.

The real question is why? I hardly ever listen to FM radio (AM I do a lot). If it was a popular feature, it would be in every phone as a feature. But most people are either streaming or listening to their music.

Finally, given the present administration, what's going on? I don't think it's done out of the goodness of their hearts to give consumers a feature that's sorely lacking.

Re:So how is this any different than before?

[hey!]

Well, "free market" used this way is a glittering generality. Most people who use it aren't referring to the technical economic sense in which individual consumers and producers make consumption, production and pricing decisions autonomously. What they typically mean would be better described something in the direction of anarcho-capitalism, although many are somewhat selective in their application of that philosophy (e.g. they aren't for the free market determining the number of abortions performed, birth control pills dispensed, or marijuana grown).

Re:FCC can't help ...

[blindseer]

Even if I could listen to FM radio, why would I? Honestly, I don't even use the radio in my car anymore. It's been ten years or more since I listened to the radio.

I've started to ask myself the same thing but perhaps for a different reason than you. I had a couple radios die on me recently which made me think about my listening habits as I shopped for replacements.

When I listen to the radio it's usually for news, weather, and traffic. These things I normally find on AM. There's a couple AM new/talk stations I flip between, one of which simulcasts on FM which is sometimes clearer than the AM cast. When there is bad weather I'll listen to the NOAA weather band broadcasts, the local storm watchers that chat on the amateur radio band, or the same news/talk stations I'd listen to normally. There is a local traffic station that broadcasts on low power AM, which is nice if I see traffic moving slow or the road condition is bad.

It's rare for me to listen to music on the radio, I have a large collection of music on my iPod (which is normally left hooked up to the stereo in my truck) and iPhone, and I can stream music over the internet from my iPhone or computer. Trying to listen to music on FM is typically quite annoying with the advertisements that are often louder than the typical music, which is a turn off. As in, I'll turn off the radio than listen to that crap. The point of listening to music is to gain enjoyment, which is destroyed with blaring adverts and/or blithering idiots for DJs.

I do listen to radio broadcasts, just not typically those on the FM band.