[IRCA] AM down the road..

["Craig Healy" <bubba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> But, sometimes I wonder if AM radio will exist in another 20-30 years?
> Some don't think it will. All AM radio might be a memory in time....

The nation is moving very rapidly toward universal wireless broadband.  Just
as many people have opted to drop their wired house phone for a cellular
unit, I suspect even DSL and cable internet will gradually be supplanted by
wireless.  My formerly-wired office number is now on my cell phone.  I don't
regret that for an instant.

At some point, portable access to streaming content will be available to a
very large segment of the population.  Why would someone listen to an AM or
even FM signal when a clear quality stream has the same content?  I hear
rumblings that Apple is deep into creation of a WiFi-enabled iPod.  Take the
WiPod, connect to a stream, and you can listen anywhere.

When a significant portion of the country is served by WiFi, or whatever the
next couple generations up is called, transmitters simply won't have a lot
of value.  HD Radio is limited to a couple of different content streams and
a slowish bit rate.  Internet streaming is limited only by the imagination
of the programmer.

All this will be driven by the need/desire for email and web access.  Audio
streaming will simply tag along for the ride.  But it will be there!

Craig Healy
Providence, RI

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