Rick Shaffer: Old AM radio model is broken

[landtuna]

But not Samsung. I just bought a Galaxy S7 and an S7 Edge. Supposedly the FM chip is installed, but Verizon doesn't support it. Not a big deal to me -- both are great phones that do what we want them to do.

What does a cell carrier have to do with supporting an FM chip? It isn't like FM is being transmitted over cell facilities, is it?

I bought a Moto G2 about six months ago over the counter then registered it with T-Mobile and the FM has always worked. AFAIK T-Mobile doesn't care whether your phone has a FM chip or not.

 

[davideduardo]

What does a cell carrier have to do with supporting an FM chip? It isn't like FM is being transmitted over cell facilities, is it?

I bought a Moto G2 about six months ago over the counter then registered it with T-Mobile and the FM has always worked. AFAIK T-Mobile doesn't care whether your phone has a FM chip or not.

Cell carriers can choose to activate the chip in the phones on their network, or not. Manufacturers can choose to put the chip in or not.

 

[landtuna]

Cell carriers can choose to activate the chip in the phones on their network, or not. Manufacturers can choose to put the chip in or not.

I understand that. What I am asking is what difference does it make to the carrier if the chip is active? AFAIK the FM chip uses no cell facilities.

 

[TheBigA]

AFAIK the FM chip uses no cell facilities.

My take is it's about leverage...using your power to get something from someone else. The government doesn't require them to activate it, so they don't. The radio companies want access to the platform, so the carriers want an access fee.

 

[davideduardo]

I understand that. What I am asking is what difference does it make to the carrier if the chip is active? AFAIK the FM chip uses no cell facilities.

But usage of the radio generates no data plan usage. It may be considered to have a negative impact on revenue.

 

[TheBigA]

But usage of the radio generates no data plan usage. It may be considered to have a negative impact on revenue.

Except in the case of the NextRadio app, which uses a small amount of data. So the phone company gets something from it. It's a hybrid system.

 

[KeithE4]

But usage of the radio generates no data plan usage. It may be considered to have a negative impact on revenue.

Neither to any of my streaming apps (TuneIn, MLB At Bat iHeartRadio, etc.) when I'm home, since I connect via my own WiFi.

I only use data when I'm in my car or at places without WiFi. I have a 3 Gb data plan shared with 2 phones, and have yet to exceed 1.5 Gb, and then only in the rare cases that I'm watching video of some kind away from home. Streaming audio doesn't use much data at all.