Bonneville’s Federal News Radio is using AudioNow to provide a phone feed of its streamed audio to mobile phone users.
Washington-based Federal News Radio is heard on the web, the AM dial at 1500 kHz and the HD2 channel of a Bonneville FM at 107.7 MHz. Content is aimed at federal managers and contractors looking for news and information about the biz of the federal government.
“Listening to radio should be as simple as pressing a speed dial button,” stated AudioNow CTO Marcel Barbulescu, who said the arrangement means Federal News Radio content will be available to any mobile phone listener without downloads or data services required. Mobile phone users would dial (712) 432-6616.
AudioNow says its proprietary technology converts any audio format online and streams it to the AudioNow gateway server, which then relays that stream to any phone listener on their current phone service plan. The listener dials a specific number to access the service; standard mobile rates may apply.
For this to work, stations provide AudioNow an MP3 stream of their audio. It costs stations little to use the service and listeners will hear one ad before AudioNow connects them to the audio stream, according to the technology developer.
Federal News Radio PD Lisa Wolfe noted in the announcement that the relationship is useful to the station particularly given the firewalls and other restrictions within the federal “space.”
