AT&T joins Sprint in activating FM chips.

AT&T joins Sprint in activating FM chips in 2016. Many stations ran the next radio spots (we had a few calls asking why the chip didn't work). What are your thoughts. I think the campaign helped AT&T make the decision. Will the FM chip be the next transistor radio. I think Apple will be the last holdout (if they ever activate it).

I'm concerned about the potentially inconsistent user experience will actually hurt radios perception to phone addicts.

At broadcast FM frequencies, the wavelength is long enough that a useful antenna installation in a phone is impossible. That means for those who try listening to the radio on their phone may not get adequate reception for stations without enough field strength to overcome an inefficient antenna. Remember the old days of the Sony Walkman? Much of the complaints were radio reception was inconsistent, mainly due to the headphone cord was the antenna. A good idea, but difficult to control the polarization or resonant length of the antenna (headphone cord).

For us, our tower is about 1 mile from our town center and college. Since AT&T is the only reliable carrier in town, I hope this partnership with the radio industry will be a plus.

...and yes please give us reception reports from the Lumberyard

I heard a lot of advertising for this from the stations in Las Vegas this past weekend, so I guess the industry is going to push it. Hopefully it helps some.

We are running the spots too.

great addition to smartphones. Not all of us want to stream FM Radio or download said apps.

And as of today, T-Mobile is joining them.