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National Association of Broadcasters Again Urges Apple to Add FM Radio to iPhones
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regardless of who wants what etc...
are there any precedents for this or examples someone can think of which has shown an older technology being mandated into a newer one?
something like--> televisions being required to receive FM radio?
.. or personal music players (walkman etc.. ie- the things that the iPhone evolved from) needing to do FM?
or maybe a separate industry altogether which shows some sort of precedent or analogous example?
are there any precedents for this or examples someone can think of which has shown an older technology being mandated into a newer one?
something like--> televisions being required to receive FM radio?
.. or personal music players (walkman etc.. ie- the things that the iPhone evolved from) needing to do FM?
or maybe a separate industry altogether which shows some sort of precedent or analogous example?
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Just for fun, what's the wavelength of a typical FM radio station signal?
Next, what is the size requirement for a reasonably useful antenna given that wavelength?
Hint - unlikely to fit inside a phone in any usable form without leveraging a wired headphone cord or a power cord as the antenna.
100% correct.
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The point is in emergencies, cell systems may be down so no data to your phone, so no app will work.
apple shouldn't give in to these people who only think that FM can save us during an emergency.
apple already works with governments around the world for emergency frequencies to be receivable and evacuation messages etcetera be received automatically if the phone is on.
in fact, apple provides this capability already in the country that have these emergency alert capabilities.
USA does. Japan does. most other countries do not.
in Notifications, at the very bottom these emergency alert capabilities are found.
quote (in the USA)
The Department of Emergency Management sends alerts through the national Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system that can send alerts of catastrophic events to any mobile device that has pinged a cellular tower in a defined geographical area.
endquote
apple already works with governments around the world for emergency frequencies to be receivable and evacuation messages etcetera be received automatically if the phone is on.
in fact, apple provides this capability already in the country that have these emergency alert capabilities.
USA does. Japan does. most other countries do not.
in Notifications, at the very bottom these emergency alert capabilities are found.
quote (in the USA)
The Department of Emergency Management sends alerts through the national Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system that can send alerts of catastrophic events to any mobile device that has pinged a cellular tower in a defined geographical area.
endquote
And that’s the problem. What if the hurricane blew down the nearest cellular towers.
Dear orev,
It's disgusting the way you expect private companies to do things for you that YOU'RE not willing to provide for YOURSELF. You're a grown person (presumably), so if you want to provide an FM radio for yourself, YOU can do so! Groveling like a baby does not make it anyone else's responsibility to provide you with FM radio hardware.
Signed,
Those of us that understand why it's not your neighbor's responsibility to provide for your every last desire.
Seriously, if it's not clear enough, I wish there was a more powerful word than 'disgusting' to describe the idea that it's any more Apple's problem to provide the world with FM radio service than it is yours. Hell, why wouldn't you start by asking the FM industry?
It doesn’t make sense to build an FM radio with antennas into phones just for emergency use. People would be better off getting a dedicated hand-crank radio for that and that wouldn’t necessitate design trade-offs for a fringe feature.
It's not "big government approach". It's a very small requirement if the purpose truly is public safety. We have huge amounts of requirements around fire codes, building standards, water and air safety, food and drug standards, etc... and we don't have buildings falling over during earthquakes or hurricanes because of it. The government's role is to act for the greater good in cases where the individual desires run against the good of society as a whole. Google: Tragedy of the Commons
If it is truly a public safety issue, as Pai himself is saying, and the chips are already there or could easily be put back in for new models, then it's almost a nothing requirement. Most phones already have the chip and all they need to do is draw one single extra trace on the circuit board to make it work. I am using the words of Ajit Pai himself in saying that *IF* it's as much of a public safety issue as he says it is.
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cellphone towers do not just fall down in hurricanes in regions where building codes are adequately developed to suit potential conditions.
in the case of Puerto Rico and the USA Gulf coast, I would like to recommend that the USA enforces building codes that are required that are appropriate to those areas to be developed and enforced.
this will help to ensure Puerto Rico comes back every strongly as it gets rebuilt and the Gulf Coast is better protected.
cell phone capability is priority 1.
My comment is specifically about the irony that the head of the government organization who has the power to tell companies to do something that he himself says is a public safety issue isn't actually using his power to do that (if it really is such a huge safety issue as he says it is). Instead he's begging like a little baby for them to do it. If he really thought it was such a big issue, he could make them do it. Otherwise if he understands the free market at all, he would already know that begging like a little b*tch isn't going to get them to do it. I'm using his own words, not mine.
None of this has anything to do with Apple and their own fees though. If the argument is “Apple just wants your $10 subscription” there are PLENTY of radio stations with virtually all genre of music listenable right now for free via streaming. Some AppStore. Some browser. All $0. Also, Apple’s own service is a streaming service so that data argument is, well, moot.
If this was the only way FM radio could be used in a crisis, then regulate it as a mandatory add. But you can buy a $3 hand radio online. There is zero logical reason to force Apple to have it.
Makes me wonder if getting the headphone jack re-added is the real reason for this request. Maybe it's not the FCC's intention to do this, but what if some "concerned citizens" had written the FCC about this FM radio issue hoping that it would get Apple to bring the headphone jack back.
You said you don't want a radio on your phone. There's surely someone out there who similarly could say they don't care about and don't want a flashlight on their phone. Logical fallacy indeed.
I think the idea is that everyone already has their smartphone on them. In the instance of s crisis all one would theoretically need to do is grab the phone in their pocket. We have a readio for emergencies but it’s not within ten feet of me at virtually all times.
Not saying this needs to be a requirement, but I do see where a radio mandated in every smartphone would make sense in terms of distribution.
With iPod Nano, antenna is in Earpod (even with most recent Earpod). I don't see why they can't use that in iPhone. At least they could try to make a mini-adapter you plug into the lightning hole to get the radio.
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. There are plenty of other avenues to get information during an emergency besides FM radio. If there is no electricity, there is no FM radio anyway so the point is moot.
Then Ajit Pai should stop making nonsensical statements about it. The guy is utterly incompetent and doesn't seem to understand what his role is.
I'm sorry but it is big government and not in a good way. If people want FM radio in their phones they need to buy phones with FM radio. It's as simple as that. This is something the markets can easily sort out just like they did with OLED displays, NFC, FaceID, TouchID, large phones etc...
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Logical fallacy. Safety and reliability are selling points to consumers. Businesses will compete and sell those things to you, just like they'll sell you anything else. Government doesn't create and can't guarantee any these qualities. They merely react after the fact with myopic solutions and often toothless, commerce legislation imagined by partisan shills. Samsung managed to make a sell millions of flammable exploding phones, and all government regulations were useless in preventing that. Something worth remembering when engaging in worship over central planning.
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Apple's only response to the NAB and FCC's 'feature request' should be this:
We would love to hear from you! Please send your product input to:
http://www.apple.com/feedback.
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