French public service broadcaster Radio France is teaming up with French private radio broadcast industry group Alliance de la Radio to “call on European decision-makers to make the integration of an FM and DAB+ radio receiver compulsory in all new category M vehicles N and L registered in the European Union.”
This was spurred by a European Union legislative proposal “within the framework of the Digital Networks Act and the revision of the European Code of Electronic Communications (EECC)” to move the inclusion of traditional radios within the automobile from being a consumer’s choice to being a requirement. Over the last few years some car companies have have stopped including radios in the dashboard of lower-end models as standard equipment the last few years. This is following the increasing disappearance of over-the-air household radios.
A release pitches over-the-air broadcast radio as more reliable than streaming, diverse and possibly the only guaranteed source of information during an emergency. “Radio is a robust and accessible vector of information. Its terrestrial broadcasting networks are based on secure infrastructures, equipped with autonomous power supply means and capable of operating sustainably,” the release said.
It added that the legislation “is about preserving a common base of access to information, culture and pluralism for all Europeans, without slowing down innovation.”
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