Emergency Management a Pawn in FM Chip Debate

There's quite a broohaha underway over whether chips for receiving FM broadcasts should be added to mobile devices. Emergency management is often mentioned.

Broadcasters argue loudly that FM chips should be placed in mobile devices to help support the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and information radio stations broadcast during critical events. Broadcasters want this so badly that the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says it will support new music royalties for broadcasters, if the FM chips become mandatory.

NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton blogged that "Arguments against this pro-consumer feature have been long on exaggeration, rhetoric, and factual inaccuracies." Then, he listed a long post to counter criticism about radio-enabled mobile devices. Public safety was prominent among his arguments. In his post, he showed a sign posted by local authorities after a tornado touched down in Alabama, saying tune to a local radio station for directions and information.

On the other side of the argument are cellular carriers and the companies that make mobile devices. They say adding FM chips will shorten battery life and make the devices heavier and more costly. Six associations, including the Consumer Electronics Association, recently sent a letter to Congress saying, “Calls for an FM chip mandate are not about public safety but are instead about propping up a business which consumers are abandoning as they avail themselves of new, more consumer-friendly options.”

This has become a heated battle, one that emergency managers will want to watch.

All the best,

Rick