ATT To Activate NextRadio Chip In Android Phones

The radio industry posted a big win in its campaign to get carriers to activate the FM radio chip built into most mobile phones.

KatyOnTheHill reports AT&T agreed Tuesday, July 28, 2015, to specify that the FM chip be activated in Android phones manufactured in 2016 and beyond, according to NextRadio and TagStation, the Emmis-owned entities that promote an FM listening app and station support infrastructure.

AT&T is the second major carrier to back the FM chip. In 2013, Sprint agreed to enable its customers to listen to local FM radio stations from a broad spectrum of radio companies and aggregators on select Android and Windows smartphones. The FM radio capability is delivered through the NextRadio tuner application or other radio apps or services.

An email signed by  The NextRadio + TagStation Team, which developed the app that allows users t
o listen to stations on an activated FM chip, stated: “This is a big milestone for the radio industry and shows working together and supporting this initiative is paying off.”

“The change is made by the OEMs (smartphone makers), and by having the support of carriers like Sprint and AT&T putting it in their specifications it increases the probability of getting the FM chip turned on,” said the email. “We already have experienced handset makers activating it across all carriers (for example, new models of HTC One and Moto phones) and AT&T’s request fuels the support and progress being made.”