American senators are fighting to save AM radio in a proposed bill, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act.
On Saturday (4 May), Senator Edward Markey said that the act has the support of 60 US Senators and 246 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, meaning that it has a high chance of passing.
If it does, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would have to make sure that every new vehicle sold in America would have AM radios installed at no extra cost, per Ars Technica.
Last year, Markey claimed that AM radios in cars save lives due to being a platform that delivers emergency alerts to the public. In addition to its importance in sharing said alerts, 82 million people still listen to AM radio in the US, the National Association of Broadcasters stated.
Markey argued that AM radio provides a “lifeline” for listeners in the US to receive “news, sports, and local updates in times of emergencies.”
Markey continued, “Our commonsense bill makes sure this fundamental, essential tool doesn’t get lost on the dial. With a filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate, Congress should quickly take it up and pass it.”
In Australia, the federal government shared a report that found AM radio “still plays a life-saving role for motorists during emergencies and natural disasters,” per Drive.com.au, thanks to its frequencies that travel “further than forms of communication and from fewer transmission towers.”
Telstra, Volvo, and Polestar currently don’t offer AM radios in their Australian cars, while specific Peugeot, Citroen, and Volkswagen models don’t have this technology.
Some car-makers bringing out electric vehicles also don’t have AM radio in those cars because of the apparent interference caused by electric motors.
“AM broadcasting will continue to play an important role in the delivery of radio in regional and remote Australia for the medium to long term, in areas where other platforms cannot reach,” The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) argued in a 2020 report.
The report continued, “In-vehicle listening is particularly important in regional and remote Australia, with long-driving distances between population centres and the reliance on radio for emergency information.
“While technologies that deliver radio to fixed addresses are apparent, new digital delivery technologies will be needed to fill the ‘reception gap’ between major towns currently filled by AM transmissions.”
Last June, ABC revealed its five-year plan to step away from AM radio and transfer its services to podcasts and on-demand digital products.
“Our television multi-channels will be re-positioned to align more closely to audience preferences,” ABC’s plan read. “We will have reduced overlaps across broadcast audio services and reduced our investment in AM band transmission.
“We will consolidate and rebrand some broadcast services as more of our audiences move to digital platforms.”
