But for new iPhones there are major technical obstacles
U.S. media authority FCC chairman Ajit Pai wants Apple to turn on the FM radio that’s hidden inside of every iPhone. He asked that Apple reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Apple said Pai’s request wasn’t possible for its newest phones. 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, an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
No country wants to discuss with Norway about alternative use of FM
The Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom) has been given the cold shoulder when trying to discuss alternative use of the FM band with colleagues in other countries. At the conference Frequency Forum in Oslo on September 20 a message killed the hope that the band will be used for other community or commercial purposes if Norway completely switches to DAB 2022.
Internet developments and added listening values omitted by EBU study
The EBU has presented a study using a model country based on the statistics available from the five principal countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK). FM emerged as the most expensive distribution platform. Digital transition to DAB would lower the budget required for distribution, permitting greater investment in content production and employment according to the report. However, an analysis show that there are a lot add before drawing such conclusions. Crucial technical variables and added values with Internet distribution is not considered in this study.
Enforced technology change is being questioned by citizens. Can listeners trust the public broadcaster?
The opposition to replace FM for the national networks with digital DAB+ technology was apparent already a few years before the final decision of the Storting 2016. As the FM shutdown is currently in progress an analysis indicates that public radio NRK has reached a precarious position.
Appearing at international conferences publi broadcaster NRK and its lobbying arm Digitalradio Norge AS is trying to hide the negative facts of the Norwegian DAB fiasco.
NRK switches to DAB with 14% lower listening rates than last year. Local FM radio the winner.
In total NRK week 33 had a daily gain of 43.0%. This is a 14 % decrease compared with the same week in 2016, when NRK had a total of 49.0% of PPM measurements. Looking at the individual channels, the NRK P1 has gone from 33.4% in week 33 last year to 27.6 this year. The numbers are alarming for NRK P3, ranging from a support of 12.0% to only 7.8%
