In response to today’s statement from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai calling on Apple to voluntarily activate radio chips already in iPhones to promote public safety, NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith has issued the following statement :
“NAB salutes FCC Chairman Pai for his strong support for voluntary activation of FM radio chips in Apple iPhones. Local broadcasters are a lifeline information source in times of crisis, as Chairman Pai, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and other members of Congress and the FCC have noted. We urge Apple to acknowledge the public safety benefits of local broadcasting on SmartPhones and to light up the FM chip.”
A Bloomberg article published earlier today reports on Apple’s decision not to activate radio chips embedded in iPhones, despite the technology’s ability to let listeners tune to local radio during times of emergency. The South Florida Sun Sentinel wrote an editorial calling on Apple to unlock FM chips in Smartphones so users can access lifeline information when power and cellular service are down.
