AT&T Android Phones Will Have Activate FM Radio Chips From 2016

A person familiar with the matter tells The Verge that AT&T isn’t making radio activation a requirement, despite what some news releases are saying. It’s been the case many times where the global version of a device had an FM radio but the US version didn’t. And in Europe, where carrier-tied phones are much less common, FM radios have been turned on by default for years.

Smulyan said this plan was developed many years ago.

AT&T is one the largest mobile carriers in the United States and is now working with NextRadio and FreeRadioOnMyPhone.org to begin activating the existing FM chips in their smart phones.

AT&T is the latest phone carrier to include FM chip activation, agreeing to a no-cost deal with NEXTRADIO for their 2016 ANDROID smartphone device specifications.

The move (if successful) will allow smartphone users to tune into local radio stations just as they would in their vehicle or at home, giving them access to local news, entertainment and weather updates. Within 45 days of that message AT&T came to us and said let’s make a deal.

According to the NAB, having active FM reception will open up features such as song tagging and other interactions that are popular with younger listeners. The only conceivable reason why the carriers keep the radios turned off is because that forces customers to use wireless data to listen to streaming radio, which is something they can charge for. “It would be hard to determine what the actual revenue potential for radio will be from the interactivity on NextRadio but there is no question it provides another great opportunity for advertisers to directly connect with radio’s mobile listeners”.