Ofcom legalises low-powered FM transmitters

Ofcom, the telecommunication standards agency, has announced that low powered FM transmitters will be legal from 8 December.

The law has been changed to allow these devices to be used, as they're popular for streaming audio from a portable music device to in-car radios and other radio devices.

Griffin, the makers of the iTrip FM transmitter for iPod, has said that this means about 100,000 iTrip owners in the UK will finally be able to use their devices.

According to Ofcom, the legislation was in place to combat pirate radio stations; however, the advent of the small FM transmitter means that many people who were just trying to listen to their own music files over their car stereo were, strictly speaking, breaking the law.

Griffin is not the only manufacturer who will benefit from this change. Sonnet Technologies can now sell the iFreq in the UK (for £40), while GEAR4 is pushing the PowerTrip FM car charger and transmitter for iPod.

Some of the devices available work on devices other than the iPod as well.