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AT&T to Mandate Working FM Radios In Android Handsets

Jul 29, 2015, 1:44 PM by Eric M. Zeman

AT&T has requested that all its handset manufacturer partners include functional FM radios in their Android smartphones by 2016. Further, the company is asking its OEM partners to enable any FM radios that may be dormant inside existing handsets. FM radios are often included on modules that bundle other radios, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular. The move means AT&T's Android customers will be able to listen to local FM radio via their smartphones through apps, such as NextRadio. The National Association of Broadcasters applauded the move, saying, "[This] marks a new beginning in mobile technology with the agreement by a global iconic brand, AT&T, to light up the FM receiver chips in all of its future Android smartphones." NextRadio, which makes it easy to find an listen to local FM radio stations, competes with myriad other third-party music services on smartphones.

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RadioWorld (via Engadget) »

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Comments

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This forum is closed.

aibrean

Jul 30, 2015, 9:06 AM

That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

FYI, to "mandate" something is not the same as to have "requested" or to be "asking for" something. But, you got me to click on the article and got and my comment out of it to help your website stats, so I guess you probably don't care.

Rich Brome

AT&T is the customer, and a huge one. If they say they want their phones to have FM radio, manufacturers will do it. It's effectively a mandate.

Pandemic187

Jul 29, 2015, 1:49 PM

So, basically

AT&T wants people to use less data.

Shakezula84

Sprint did it 2 years ago and preinstalled nextradio to all the phones. I wish others would get on board. Some stations I listen to are not on all the streaming apps.

gfondeur

Exactly
They want to take stress of their network

thebriang

Jul 30, 2015, 11:26 AM

Sweet...

Next up on their Roadmap To The Past... streaming records... maybe a bluetooth 8 track player... followed by their NFC-Telegraph messaging app. Now That's gonna really move the needle, especially if you can upload your MorseNotes%u2122 to facebook.

Really though, this just tells me ATT got paid money to make this move or they have a monetization scheme waiting in the wings. Oh, I bet they get the listening habits data via weasel ware, since that's where the real money is at. The deathstar never does anything that isn't in the best interests of the people that matter, their shareholders.

gfondeur

It's not obvious?
You don't need a cristal ball to see behind this move they just trying to take stress of their network.

amarryat

Jul 29, 2015, 2:05 PM

What about Apple

Are they going to tell Apple to do the same?

Remember iPods had the FM attachment? Then the next version of the iPod would no longer work with that accessory? Even though we all know the hardware was there to support it.

My Android phone already has a working FM app on it.

Shakezula84

I think the day a carrier dictates to apple is the day you can't find an iphone on that carrier anymore.

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