Summary Box: Cell phones could face radio mandate

THE PROPOSAL: A proposed settlement to a long-running dispute between radio broadcasters and the recording industry over music royalties could include a federal mandate that all new cell phones have an FM radio chip.

THE OPPOSITION: Electronics manufacturers are alarmed by the prospect that the government could dictate such a key design decision.

WHAT’s NEXT: Radio broadcasters and the music industry are taking the idea to their members to get buy-in on a deal that they can take to lawmakers after the summer recess. They hope that Congress will act in the fall.

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