Regulators reconsider ban on FM transmitters for iPods

Posted on 22 May 2006 at 13:09

European telecoms regulators have begun reconsidering the current ban on FM transmitters for iPods.

UK regulator Ofcom is among those looking at the possibility of legalising devices, such as Griffin Technology's iTrip (pictured), which transmits the playback from an iPod to a nearby radio receiver, in a car for example.

Currently these devices are banned in the UK under the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949 as they could interfere with licensed radio stations.

Pressure for change is being applied in Parliament by the Liberal Democrats' shadow culture secretary Don Foster who told the BBC that it is 'ridiculous that 1940s legislation is preventing the iPod generation from enjoying their music using the latest gadgets'.

Foster added that such devices are in widespread use in the USA without any evidence that they interfere with radio broadcasts.

Despite the ban, which prevented Griffin's UK distributor, AM Micro, from selling iTrips, many are thought to be in use, having been bought over the Internet. Illegal FM broadcasting can result in a heavy fine or even a gaol sentence.

Ofcom's head of corporate relations, Clayton Hirst, said that regulators are looking to develop 'a common set of standards to allow some low-power devices to be sold and used in the UK'. However he warned that some of the devices currently on sale could remain illegal since they may not meet technical standards on radio signal interference.

Author: Simon Aughton

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