Globe editorial calls FM radio "outdated technology"

[Sid Schweiger]

>>Chances are pretty good that you already have an FM radio in your next cellphone, and the wireless carrier sees more profit in having you listen to services that you[1] pay them for than in letting you listen to free radio.  It's already well understood that consumers don't want to carry around multiple devices -- the standalone digital music player market will be dead in few years -- and so broadcasters are worried that you will get all of your auditory entertainment from the one device you[2] already have, your phone.[3]  There's also a (spurious) argument about receiving EAS alerts (there's no reason the carriers could not be required to use their own technology to deliver EAS messages just as cablecos are).<<

The issue for me is that, once again, the broadcasters' main lobby is attempting to accomplish by government fiat what they claim their members can't accomplish on their own.  They tried it once before by asking the government to mandate that HD radios be bundled with satellite radios, and deservedly got their heads handed to them.  Let's hope regulators see through this one, too.

It's really simple:  Give me something fresh, relevant and compelling to listen to, and you've got me.  Do nothing more than run on fumes, maintaining the status quo, and you've lost me.  What part of this does the NAB not understand?

Sid Schweiger
IT Manager, Entercom New England
20 Guest St / 3d Floor
Brighton MA  02135-2040