A coalition of six technology industry associations sent a
letter today to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the U.S. House and
Senate Judiciary Committees asking them to resist efforts to include an
FM technology mandate for mobile devices in any legislation addressing
an unrelated conflict between the broadcast and recording industries
over royalties.
The proposed imposition of an FM chip mandate is not necessary for
resolution of the dispute between performance artists and broadcasters
and, if adopted, it would be bad policy for several reasons:
;Mandating
that every wireless device include an FM chip would require consumers
to pay more for a function that they may not desire or ever use.
groups that are parties to the discussions over the performance rights
royalty issue lack any expertise in the development of wireless devices
and are in no position to dictate what type of functionality is included
in a wireless device.
and government of a mobile broadcast emergency alerting system makes the
requirement unnecessary.
The
following Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of CTIA-The Wireless
Association, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the
Information Technology Industry Council, the Rural Cellular Association,
TechAmerica and the Telecommunications Industry Association signed the
letter.
“Calls
for an FM chip mandate are not about public safety but are instead about
propping up a business which consumers are abandoning as they avail
themselves of new, more consumer-friendly options,” the associations
wrote. “It is simply wrong for two entrenched industries to resolve
their differences by agreeing to burden a third industry - which has no
relationship to or other interest in the performance royalty dispute -
with a costly, ill-considered and unnecessary new mandate.