Ajit Pai, FCC Tell Apple To Activate FM Chips On iPhones

After hurricanes battered Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, Apple is now facing pressure from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, who is telling the Cupertino company to activate FM chips on iPhones.

Ajit’s call comes after the National Association of Broadcasters pressured Apple to turn on the chips that could receive radio broadcasts.

“When wireless networks go down during a natural disaster, smartphones with activated FM chips can allow Americans to get vital access to life-saving information,” Ajit said in a statement on Thursday. “I applaud those companies that have done the right thing by activating the FM chips in their phones.”

Ajit pointed out the recent natural disasters that have killed and displaced Americans. He said the FM chips could improve public safety during those situations.

The chairman said :

“Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so. But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. That’s why I am asking Apple to activate the FM chips that are in its iPhones. It is time for Apple to step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first.”

The National Association of Broadcasters a group that represents radio and television broadcasters, also criticized Apple for not activating the FM chip. LG, Samsung and Motorola have previously activated the FM chip. The FM radio option comes with the Qualcomm chips installed on iPhones, and almost every smartphone in the market.

"Broadcasters are providing information on how to evacuate quickly, where flood waters are raging, how to get out of harm’s way if there’s a tornado or a hurricane," Dennis Wharton, the association’s spokesman told Bloomberg. "The notion that Apple or anyone else would block this type of information is something that we find fairly troubling."