UK to lift ban on iTrips

UK is set to legalize gadgets which transmit output from MP3 players to FM radios in the country. The Communications regulator Ofcom will hold a public consultation in September, over the use of Griffin Technology’s iTrips and other low-power FM transmitters which are currently banned in Europe. The gadgets work by allowing car radios or household stereos to tune in to iPod signals and play music, using the same wavelengths as radio stations but were ruled illegal because of fears they would interfere with commercial radio. The Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949 currently threatens two years imprisonment to music lovers using iTrips without a license but the gadgets are expected to be legalized by 2007. According to Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesman Don Foster, the legislation will help keep a check on the booming black market, thanks to a legal loophole that lets the country’s retailers sell them and provide the country with valuable tax revenue. Ofcom officials said that the popularity of the devices had led them to reconsider the ban.