iPhone and other modern smartphones are equipped with an FM module that is disabled by software producers. Apple devices such chip exists, although Cupertino still have not acknowledged this fact. As reported Mediasat, the Mexican government approved new rules that require smartphone manufacturers to include in their product support FM modules.
Mexico is well known for his love of radio. The country has more than 1,300 FM stations, and Internet users listen to radio online in average of 2 hours and 50 minutes a day. However, Mexicans very rarely listen to radio on smartphones.
In late April the Mexican Federal Institute of telecommunications approved new rules that require mobile device makers to include in their product support technology solutions that give their owners the opportunity to take these devices to FM radio.
This step was the result of pressure from the National chamber for regulation of the television and radio industry (CIRT), and made Mexico the first country in the world to adopt such a rule at the legislative level.
In CIRT note that most smartphones comes with integrated FM-receiver. However, in order to give users the opportunity to listen to radio on their devices, manufacturers must activate these receivers.
Lobbying for this solution, CIRT indicated that in the event of natural and man-made disasters, mobile networks can stop working. In such cases, the presence of option of FM radio will allow government services to continue to inform their users about what is happening.
Currently on the market of Mexico is not available so many smartphones that support the function of receiving FM radio. Brands such as Motorola, HTC and LG have recently added to your devices this function, but it is still rare in smartphones from Samsung and Apple. The adoption of the law complicates selling the iPhone in Mexico, because iOS has never included support options FM radio.
Attempts to activate iPhone FM radio can go beyond the boundaries of Mexico. In February of this year, the Chairman of the Federal communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Shares made in support of the idea to activate smartphones FM modules, program is disabled by the manufacturers.
The shares referred to statistics which shows that only 44% of the most popular smartphones in the United States activated the FM module. The vast majority (94%) of those that did not include the receiver’s iPhone.
