NAB takes radio's FM-on-cell phone quest to the public

story by Inside Radio

For the first time the National Associaltion of Broadcasters is taking radio's effort to convince wireless companies to put FM chips in mobile phones to the public. A new consumer-focused website http://www.radiorocksmyphone.com/ details what NAB sees as the benefits of radio-enabled cell phones and asks listeners to write their representatives in Washington expressing support for the idea. There's also an area that highlights the handfull of mobile phones that do include FM.

The wireless industry has yet to be convinced, however. The Consumer Electronics Association has responded by releasing a poll that shows eighty percent of the public doesn't support a government mandate requiring built-in radio tuners. That requirement is being floated as a potential provision in a settlement of radio's fight with the record industry over a performance royalty. CEA president/CEO Gary Shapiro says the results show there's little demand for radio-capable cell phones. "For those few consumers who want a radio in their mobile phones, manufacturers offer several dozen such devices that are already on the market," he adds. The CEA's national telephone survey was conduceted August 26-29 among a sample of 1,257 adults.

But the NAB conducted an online poll of its own which showed seventy-six percent of Americans would consider paying a one-time fee to add radio to their mobile phone. NAB executive BP Dennis Wharton says it is standing by the results of the survey done by Harris Interactive.

The debate seems odd to CTIA-The Wireless Association VP of government affairs Jot Carpenter who notes the marketplace indicates most consumers want music through smartphone applications, not built-in FM. "The market will judge whether NAB's message is effective," he says. "But no matter what that judgement is, there remains no reason for a government mandate requiring FM chips in wireless devices."