Slashdot: FCC Chief Tells Apple To Turn on iPhone's FM Radio Chip

FCC Chief Tells Apple To Turn on iPhone’s FM Radio Chip
Published on September 28, 2017 at 02:45PM
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai pushed Apple on Friday to activate the FM radio chips in the iPhone. From a report: In the wake of three major hurricanes that have wiped out communications for millions of people over the past month, Pai issued a statement urging Apple, one of the largest makers of cellphones in the US, to “reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.” FM radios that are already included in every phone could be used to access “life-saving information” during disasters, he said. For years the majority of smartphones sold in the US have included FM radios, but most of them have been turned off so that you couldn’t use the function. Why? Mobile customers would be a lot less likely to subscribe to streaming music services if they could just listen to traditional, free broadcast radio. This incentive is especially true for Apple, which has a streaming music service. Apple said in a statement: “iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products.”