The AM bandwidth is around 1 MHz...not much use for the types of bandwidth needed for cell phones/etc.
Plus, mod/demod for AM is infinitely easy. And...receiving a signal requires only wire, a headphone, and a crystal diode. (Yup, cell-kids, it’s the ultimate in simplicity - but beyond your texting abilities. Well, beyond most of you anyway.)
When Hurricane Ike hit Houston, it showed the folly of digital reception-ept-ept-s-——ept. So much for listening to storm updates.
And electric cars aren’t much good when parts of the city are without power for over 30 days (and a majority without power for up to 7 days).
Oh, go buy a generator and get some gas you say?
FOLLY!
We are being sold better-mousetraps not because they are actually BETTER (they come with tradeoffs) but they are mandated by Congress/Presidents.
Non-filament lightbulbs, low flow toilets, electric cars, freon-free cooling systems, digital television...
I am often told that CDs sound so much better than scratchy records. CDs can get scratched too (and digitally rot over time). A scratched CD can sound far worse (unplayable) than a scratched record (the player for which can be more forgiving). But the music companies made good bank rereleasing albums (at inflated wholesale costs for DECADES) on the “sexy” Compact Disc format. Today, they are rereleasing albums (at inflated wholesale costs) on the “retrosexy” vinyl format (petroleum price is a factor in costs, reduced number of pressing plants with a scarcity of replacement parts is also a factor) but not every company is seeking a $20-30 pricepoint for records these days.
And...receiving a signal requires only wire, a headphone, and a crystal diode.
really :
I thought you needed a wire (antennae), a simple lrc (inductor, resistor, capacitor) circuit with a variable resistor as the r, a battery or ac power with a ac to dc transformer, and an amplifier tube or crystal diode.