Internet wifi coming to GM cars next month!

[taylorengineer]

Just as predicted....internet is coming very soon to your automobile. And that may mean an end to the corporate grip on content distribution - radio is going to find a brand new big,fat pipe to get music, news, and other programming to you in your car. The number of stations is only limited by the number of IP addresses available.
Big question. Will Obama reach out to grab control of the internet to stop people like Matt Drudge who dare criticize the chosen one? And in the process put all media and contemt delivery systems in the vise grip of governmental control? Will there be an "internet commission".....much like the politically charged FCC....that will play internet czar?
And most importantly.........
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How does this affect Q100?

[KDM 7000]

I can see this hurting satellite radio. The ONLY reason I listen to satellite radio is

1. Because it comes with my cable channels, and
2. BBC RADIO 1 (UK's top 40 station) is on there.

BPM could do a bit better..

I'm excited about this Internet Radio coming to cars finally happening, which I've been talking about for quite a while now. It will hurt radio to some degree, but I see this mostly affecting Satellite Radio, especially when full internet radio service becomes available in all cars.

[Chancethegardner]

Perhaps the dumbest idea in decades. Just what we need, one more thing to distract drivers. Now millions will be spent settling lawsuits and passing legislation to outlaw Internet use while driving. 

[taylorengineer]

Perhaps the dumbest idea in decades. Just what we need, one more thing to distract drivers. Now millions will be spent settling lawsuits and passing legislation to outlaw Internet use while driving. 

I disagree - this is one of the best things to happen to humanity!
I don't think people will be "surfing the internet" while driving down the road - at least the driver won't be. Passengers will be able to be online which will improve productivity tremendously! With the combination of neural networks(intelligent computing)and mobile connectivity there is a wealth of possibilities for traffic control and management not requiring human intervention. You will know where your teenage kid is every minute while he's driving your new BMW....you'll know where your wife really is when she's supposed to be working late.......the possibilities are limited only by immagination.
For us radio enslaved folk.....it means unlimited choices for listening to music and gathering information. Everyone who wants to broadcast will have the ability - the rich and poor alike.(Although the folks with money will still be the ones who can afford the bandwidth and marketing.)

[jaxradidio]

You think PPM was wild...this is going to change everything.  Everything.  Atlanta stations aggressively deconstructing their product and going for a no-cost "win with music only and have no local connections" strategy is like a kid on a little bike playing chicken with an oncoming bullet train.

The question to debate here and now is, are there enough advertising and/or subscription dollars to support local programming, be that local talk or local music, on Internet stations?

[Uriah]

You think PPM was wild...this is going to change everything.  Everything.  Atlanta stations aggressively deconstructing their product and going for a no-cost "win with music only and have no local connections" strategy is like a kid on a little bike playing chicken with an oncoming bullet train.

The question to debate here and now is, are there enough advertising and/or subscription dollars to support local programming, be that local talk or local music, on Internet stations?

Exactly Jax! And the game has already changed.  Businesses that embrace social networking and customer contact programs are seeing results that paid media (digital and traditional) can't match.  Here's a Main St. example:  Custom clothing store spends $1500 a month on radio in a small market - then they engage FB and Twitter.  Immediately inventory starts to sell out on pre-orders through these social connections - with no advertising expense.
These dollars are not coming back to paid media. 

The challenge to paid media sellers: Use your expertise to help businesses embrace and succeed through these new consumer contact channels and spend less time pushing cume and share as relevant.  How many you reach is moot compared to how many you engage.

[taylorengineer]

1.There is a new paradigm emerging and those who figure it out first will bring home the bacon.
2. With technology changing so quickly it is difficult for us over 50 types to keep our eyes from glazing over.......
3. Radio always has been a young man/woman's business. Time for the fossil relics of programming to pass the torch
to a new, younger generation.
4. I wonder what the new face of radio will be in 20 years.....

[whitfm]

The infrastructure for this to be effective does not exist yet. I assume GM is banking on the government expanding wireless broadband services now that the analog television spectrum is freed up.

[jabba17]

One big limitation is the availability of 3G+ wireless broadband throughout the country.  Until it gets well rolled out, satellite will retain the upper hand.  But once it does, satellite is reduced to a niche product not unlike satellite broadband (Hughes DirecPC).

Terrestrial radio will remain viable due to the installed base of receivers.  In fact, we may see stations "move out" to rural areas not well covered by wireless broadband, reversing decades of "move-ins" from rural areas to urban.  

I would imagine that software-defined radio sets will require the car to be stopped to program stations.  Once you do, you can have at it through presets.

[CompleteGame]

Small community AMs and FMs will have another reason to deliver more local news, sports and public affairs. (Just as one example, how cool will it be to listen to your grandkids' high school football game out-of-state and in your car?) Streaming radio all of a sudden equalizes 1kw Ams and 50kw AMs, assuming the programming on the 1kw is relevant.

I think this is a win for the radio labor pool outside the big city.