HD Radio and analog FM reception will find their way into...

consumers can listen to local radio without using their data plans for Internet streaming, the company said. HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital for months has said it would try to convince carriers to build HD Radio functionality into smartphones and tablets before the end of 2012 (CD May 1 p3). To enable a smartphone for HD Radio reception, a “discreet chip” must be built into the phone, Emmis Chief Technology Officer Paul Brenner told us. ZTE demonstrated the first integrated HD Radio smartphone at the NAB Show in Las Vegas last spring, Brenner said. NextRadio is currently focused first on bringing FM analog radio to smartphones in the commercial market, he said. “HD Radio requires additional resources, which need some further justification of listener demand. We will use the NextRadio app and the FM analog existing chip to activate a market and demonstrate demand to the carriers and handset makers. From there, we can work on HD Radio potential integrations.” Confidentiality agreements bar Emmis from releasing details on which smartphones and which wireless carriers will offer analog FM and HD Radio in their products, he said. “Like any consumer technology business, a launch is a long tedious process. Milestones must be met. Technology must work as promised. If the broadcast industry cannot deliver a consistent experience the project can be scrubbed at any time. This is different than the way broadcasters usually think about technology but the only way the wireless industry operates.”