#[1]The Register: whole site [2]The Register: Personal Tech section [3]search [4]El Reg Search [5]Sign in / up [6]The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT (BUTTON) Topics [7]Security [8]Security [9]All Security[10]Cyber-crime[11]Patches[12]Research[13]CSO [14](X) [15]Off-Prem [16]Off-Prem [17]All Off-Prem[18]Edge + IoT[19]Channel[20]PaaS + IaaS[21]SaaS [22](X) [23]On-Prem [24]On-Prem [25]All On-Prem[26]Systems[27]Storage[28]Networks[29]HPC[30]Personal Tech [31](X) [32]Software [33]Software [34]All Software[35]AI + ML[36]Applications[37]Databases[38]DevOps[39]OSes[40]Virtualization [41](X) [42]Offbeat [43]Offbeat [44]All Offbeat[45]Debates[46]Columnists[47]Science[48]Geek's Guide[49]BOFH[50]Legal[51]Bootnotes[52]Site News[53]About Us [54](X) [55]Special Features Special Features [56]Spotlight on Databases [57]Defense Tech Week [58]Energy Efficient Datacenters [59]Spotlight on RSA [60]Emerging Clean Energy Tech Week Vendor Voice [61]Vendor Voice [62]Vendor Voice [63]All Vendor Voice[64]Amazon Web Services (AWS) Business Transformation[65]DDN[66]Elastic[67]Google Cloud for Startups[68]Intel vPro [69](X) [70]Resources Resources [71]Whitepapers [72]Webinars [73]Newsletters [74]Personal Tech [75]50 comment bubble on white India calls for all mobile phones to include FM radios [76]50 comment bubble on white Where feature phones remain prevalent, Spotify is not an option and the 'net is little use in an emergency icon [77]Simon Sharwood Thu 11 May 2023 // 05:02 UTC (BUTTON) India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued an advisory reminding mobile phone manufacturers they should include an FM radio tuner in their products. Yes, you read that right: an FM radio. "It has been brought to the notice of the Ministry that during the last 4/5 years there is a drastic fall in mobile phones with FM tuners feature, thereby affecting not only the ability of the poor to get free FM radio services, but also the Government's ability to disseminate real-time information during emergencies, disasters and calamities," states the [78]advisory [PDF]. The document next cites International Telecommunications Union advice about radio broadcasts being an excellent medium for communicating far and wide during emergencies, adding: "The availability of vast network of FM transmitters and FM radio in the country played a key role in India's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. "In view of the above, it should be ensured that wherever the mobile phone is equipped with an inbuilt FM radio receiver function or feature, that function or feature is not disabled or deactivated but is kept enabled/activated in the mobile phone. "Further, it is advised that if the FM radio receiver function or feature is not available in the mobile phones, it may be included." The advisory ends with a call for the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association and Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology to share the document with their members. To understand this circular, note that it refers to "mobile phones" and not "smartphones." The distinction matters in India, where feature phones remain common – IDC recently [79]reported 57 million of the devices shipped in India during 2022, compared to 201 million smartphones. India’s biggest mobile carrier, Jio, offers a feature phone and a year of free calls for ₹1499 – about $18.30. That's an affordable sum for many Indians and an indicator that Jio's ₹4999 ($61) smartphone is out of reach for many. * [80]Google creates 'optimized' Android for one smartphone — that will only be sold in India * [81]Nokstalgia: HMD Global introduces yet another homage to the past – a 4G rework of the Nokia 6300 * [82]Nokia 5310: Retro feature phone shamelessly panders to nostalgia, but is charming enough to be forgiven * [83]India to build contact-tracing app for feature phones that still use 2G, don't have Bluetooth and can't run apps India's mobile data networks also don't yet cover the entire nation, making a smartphones of limited use in many locations. Note also that the advisory mentions the possible deactivation of FM radios. While the radio chipsets used in phones can handle many frequencies, including those used by FM, many handset manufacturers may have chosen not to enable the function in the silicon they employ. MeitY's call for manufacturers to include FM radios in their hardware is therefore recognition that they are needed – by Indian consumers, and to assist with emergencies. And that with a little care, India's feature phones can be made more useful without imposing a formal regulatory requirement on manufacturers. ® Get our [84]Tech Resources (BUTTON) Share Similar topics * [85]India * [86]Mobile Phone More like these × Similar topics * [87]India * [88]Mobile Phone Narrower topics * [89]Aadhaar * [90]Aatmanirbhar Bharat * [91]Bharti Airtel Broader topics * [92]APAC Similar topics (BUTTON) Share [93]50 comment bubble on white COMMENTS Similar topics * [94]India * [95]Mobile Phone More like these × Similar topics * [96]India * [97]Mobile Phone Narrower topics * [98]Aadhaar * [99]Aatmanirbhar Bharat * [100]Bharti Airtel Broader topics * [101]APAC TIP US OFF [102]Send us news __________________________________________________________________ Other stories you might like Cisco to manufacture telecoms gear in India – but not much and not soon ‘To further strengthen and diversify the supply chain’ which is just what India loves to hear Networks11 May 2023 | 2 India bans open source messaging apps for security reasons. 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Maybe yes, maybe no Legal19 Apr 2023 | 2 India gives itself a mission to develop a 1000-qubit quantum computer in just eight years $730 million plan includes secure quantum comms, the sort of thing you need when you live next door to China On-Prem20 Apr 2023 | 5 India to ride the AI rocket responsibly, rather than regulate Also clambers aboard the RISC-V bandwagon AI + ML6 Apr 2023 | 1 Twitter blocks Pakistan government account, boosts state-run media from Russia and China Block complies with Indian policy, but boost may violate avian network's state-sponsored media rules Software4 Apr 2023 | 9 India flies – and lands – reusable autonomous spaceplane Asia In Brief PLUS Japanese PM grilled by ChatGPT; Singapore slams bank outage; WeChat adds paid tier; and more Science2 Apr 2023 | 8 The Register icon Biting the hand that feeds IT About Us * [103]Contact us * [104]Advertise with us * [105]Who we are Our Websites * [106]The Next Platform * [107]DevClass * [108]Blocks and Files Your Privacy * [109]Cookies Policy * [110]Privacy Policy * [111]T's & C's * [112]Do not sell my personal information [113]Situation Publishing Copyright. 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