This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

XM Satellite Radio (XM) is one of two satellite radio (SDARS) services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional traffic and weather channels and 23 play-by-play sports channels. XM channels are identified by Arbitron with the label "XM" (e.g. "XM32").

The company has its origins in the 1988 formation of the American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC), a consortium of several organizations originally dedicated to satellite broadcasting of telephone, fax, and data signals. In 1992, AMSC established a unit called the American Mobile Radio Corporation dedicated to developing a satellite-based digital radio service; this was spun off as XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. in 1999. The satellite service was set to officially launch on September 12, 2001, however, due to the September 11 attacks, the decision was made to postpone the official launch date to September 25, 2001.

On July 29, 2008, XM and former competitor Sirius Satellite Radio formally completed their merger, following U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, forming Sirius XM Radio, Inc. with XM Satellite Radio, Inc. as its subsidiary.^[1] On November 12, 2008, Sirius and XM began broadcasting with their new, combined channel lineups.^[2] On January 13, 2011, XM Satellite Radio, Inc. was dissolved as a separate entity and merged into Sirius XM Radio, Inc.^[3] Prior to its merger with Sirius, XM was the largest satellite radio company in the United States.

Services[link]

While the satellite receiver radio service is its primary product, XM operates several audio and data services, and advertising.

Satellite radio[link]

XM's primary business is satellite radio entertainment. XM carries music, news (both simulcast and syndicated programming), sports, talk radio, comedy (both stand-up and radio shows), and even radio drama. In addition, XM broadcasts local weather and traffic conditions in its larger markets. The channel lineup is available on-line.

To receive satellite radio programming, a customer is required to purchase a receiver. Prices range from less than $50 to over $200. With a service commitment, it's possible to get a simple receiver for free. Monthly packages start at US$12.95/month with add-on "family" radios at US$8.99/month. Best-of-Sirius is available on US accounts for an additional monthly fee. Lifetime packages are also available (USA only). Channel quality is two flavors, stereo music channels at 39 kbit/s and mono talk channels at 16 kbit/s using proprietary compression. Many subscribers have complained about the low quality of satellite radio sound. But providers have stuck with the plan for more channels instead of better quality. HD terrestrial digital radio, a competitor has always used this difference as a selling point.

There are currently several types of receivers available to consumers:

• Plug and Play receivers: The receiver snaps in to a base unit, which provides power, antenna, and audio connections. Multiple base units can be installed in the home or car, and portable boom-box style units allow the plug and play receivers to be used outdoors. This is typically the least expensive option. Examples include the Xpress line, and the Delphi Skyfi.
• In-dash receivers: These are integrated with a car's stereo system. Many factory stereo systems include XM or Sirius radio, and the more popular aftermarket stereo brands all have options to connect satellite radio receivers.
• Desktop receivers and Home theater systems: Manufacturers are now offering several XM Ready systems. These use an external tuner which can connect to the head unit. These range from small clock-radio systems to powerful home theater receivers.
• Portable personal systems: XM has offered portability kits for various receivers in the past. It also currently offers the Helix and Inno, which are self-contained and can play both live XM and recorded content with no external antennas.

XM also offers music downloads through XM+Napster for Windows users. This service is being integrated with XM Online and the new MP3 capable XM receivers, such as the Pioneer Inno or the Samsung Helix.

Several music channels of XM radio can also be received on the Dish Network satellite network. To listen to XM on the Dish Network, no XM subscription is required, but you must have a Dish Network subscription. DirecTV removed retransmitting XM music channels on February 9, 2010, replacing its offering with SonicTap.

XM also offers many of its stations to subscribers via the Internet. Most of its original programming is available, but the syndicated and simulcast channels are typically not included.

XM Radio Online[link]

|XM Radio Online (XMRO), XM's Internet radio product, offers many of XM's music stations and can be accessed from any Internet connected Windows or Macintosh computer, or via the iPhone/iPod Touch SIRIUS XM app. Prior to March 11, 2009, XMRO was included with XM Radio subscriptions, or was available separately for $7.99/month to Internet-only subscribers.

XM Radio upgraded its online audio sound on March 11, 2009.^{[citation needed]} Customers with existing subscriptions were downgraded from the 64 kbit/s stream to a lower quality 32 kbit/s stream for the duration of their subscription contract. However, as part of the upgraded audio stream, XMRO became available as a $2.99/month add-on service with a satellite radio subscription, or as a stand-alone Internet-only service at $12.99/month. The premium subscription stream is offered to XMRO subscribers as a "near CD-quality" 128 kbit/s. The online player is Java-based and uses Microsoft's WMA file format.

Weather and traffic[link]

XM also provides data services such as weather information for pilots and weather spotters through its XM WX Satellite Weather datacasting service. This up to the minute weather information can be displayed in the cockpit of an aircraft equipped with a satellite weather receiver. Unlike weather radar, which relies on the aircraft's own equipment, the satellite service can give a pilot information about weather anywhere in USA and Canada. The downside is that the various weather streams (radar, cloud coverage, lightning, forecast, TAF, FA, etc...) takes around 15 minutes to complete the data download, meaning that the information can somewhat be out-of-date by the time it is shown. In-cockpit radar and lightning receivers return truly realtime information, but they can cost many thousands of dollars, and do not provide forecasts and complete weather reports. FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions ( TFRs) are also available and shown. Certain aircraft are also now integrating the XM radio service in to the aircraft's audio system, as well, allowing passengers to listen to XM radio while flying.^[4][5]

XM also has dedicated traffic and weather channels that cover many major metropolitan areas. These channels play a continuous loop of local weather information and detailed traffic data.

Commercial adoption and partnerships[link]

In 2005, AirTran Airways began putting XM Satellite Radio on their aircraft, while in January 2006, JetBlue Airways added XM Radio to their aircraft. United Airlines started carrying prerecorded XM content in March 2006. Zipcar, an urban car-sharing service in the United States, initially installed XM receivers in all of their vehicles available for daily or hourly rental. However, citing uncertainty in the satellite radio market, Zipcar announced on May 1, 2007 that all XM radios would be removed from its fleet in the following months.

In 2006, the service "XM for Business" was launched on the DirecTV platform to provide 15 channels of interruption-free background music. This service replaces the Music Choice business audio service formerly offered by DirecTV. The XM for Business channels are in the upper 500s as of August 2006 and include an exclusive "Taste of Italy" channel. The channels are programmed separately from the consumer service, but share the same names, themes, and playlists. More importantly for the background music needs of business audio these channels do not feature any kind of interruption and do not feature radio hosts, imaging, or sounders.

Effective October 1, 2006, the 15 channels of interruption-free background music, formerly part of "XM for Business", were moved from satellite 101 to satellite 119 (DirecTV-7S at 119°W). Reception now requires a single 18" dish aimed at 119°W or a Phase3 oval dish with three LNBFs and a multi-satellite-capable receiver. Older, single LNB receivers may not be able to receive these stations.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Air Canada began replacing its current generation of EnRoute radio with XM. As with United, this is prerecorded content.

Customer Service[link]

In contrast to its high-quality broadcasts, Sirius/XM's customer service has drawn fire from some State governments. In October 2010, Richard Cordray, Ohio's Attorney General, began investigating complaints regarding Sirius XM's policies on billing, customer solicitation as well as subscription renewals and cancellations. The company informed shareholders of the probe shortly thereafter. According to news reports, Arizona, Connecticut, Tennessee, Vermont, and the District of Columbia have expressed interest in participating in the inquiry.

According to Reuters, "The investigations come as Sirius XM, home to programs by Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, has found its footing and distanced itself from years of huge losses and questions about its business model."^[6]

In a report obtained in March 2011, The Better Business Bureau reported receiving over 4500 complaints against Sirius XM in the preceding 36 months, around half of which regarded the company's billing and collection practices. ^[7]

In Missouri, some people registered on the state's do-not-call list have complained about receiving repeated calls from Sirius XM workers or agents after cancelling their subscriptions. Some Florida customers have reported being billed for automatic renewals of accounts they had canceled. Further, Sirius XM was sued in federal court by a customer accusing it of deceptively raising prices.^[6]

The report also stated that "Sirius, in a statement, said it was cooperating with the investigations and that it believed its 'consumer-related practices comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.'"^[6]

Exclusive channels[link]

• KISS
• Mix
• Nashville!
• The Pink Channel
• Rock@Random
• Bollywood & Beyond
• Fox Sports Radio
• MLB Play-by-Play
• Extreme Talk
• America's Talk
• Talk Radio
• ATN-Asian Radio
• ReachMD
• XM Scoreboard
• ESPN Xtra
• Calendrier Sportif
• XM Deportivo
• Laugh Attack
• Canada 360
• Quoi de Neuf

Company[link]

Company timeline[link]

Year	Event(s)
1988	American Mobile Satellite Corp. is founded.
1991	American Mobile Radio/ XM founder Lon Levin joins American Mobile Satellite Corp.
1992	December 15: after CD Radio (later becoming Sirius Satellite Radio) successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission and Congress to look into creating Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) in the United States, American Mobile Satellite Corp. spins off a new division known as American Mobile Radio Corp. who would go on and join three other applicants as potential licensees. Later that year, American Mobile brings in WorldSpace as a 20% investor into the new venture with the intention of using their technology.
1996	Gary Parsons leaves MCI Communications to join American Mobile as its CEO and President.
1997	May 16: American Mobile Satellite and WorldSpace officially change the name of American Mobile Radio to XM Satellite Radio. Later that month, Lon Levin, who was politically instrumental in the early years of establishing American Mobile Radio, becomes its President until 1998; he would remain on until 2005 in an influential VP role in charge of Government Regulatory. October: XM Satellite Radio obtains one of only two satellite digital audio radio service licenses offered by the Federal Communications Commission. Together with CD Radio (SIRIUS), the two beat out Primosphere Limited Partnership and Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation as licensees.
1998	Hugh Panero leaves Request TV as its President and CEO, to join XM Satellite Radio in the same role.
1999	June: Clear Channel Communications, DirecTV, General Motors, and a private investment group invest US$250 million in XM Satellite Radio convertible debt. Both Clear Channel and DirecTV agree to develop services for XM. June 7: with GM's investment in XM, they enter into a 12-year "Distribution Agreement" between XM and GM subsidiary, OnStar Corporation. The agreement calls for exclusive installation of XM Satellite Radio into GM vehicles from November 12, 2001 until November 2013. OnStar must meet specific escalating installation rates each year, while XM must make extensive payments to OnStar for the installation and sale of XM in their vehicles, while sharing revenue earned from these radios with OnStar – as well as payments on the exclusivity agreement. July 7, American Mobile Satellite, still XM's parent company, uses approximately US$75 million of the proceeds from the private investment to reacquire the 20% interest WorldSpace holds. In October, XM Satellite Radio issues 10,241,000 shares of Class A common stock at an IPO price of US$12.00 per share. American Mobile Satellite remains the majority holder of the public company.
2000	April: American Mobile Satellite Corp. changes its name to Motient. In July, American Honda join several private investors in a US$235 million preferred stock investment in the company.
2001	September 25 (Originally set for September 12 and delayed because of "9/11"): XM Satellite Radio service launches, first in San Diego and Dallas/Fort Worth, and spreads across the United States. The initial lineup includes 71 music channels and 29 other channels consisting of sports, talk, children's programming, entertainment and news. The original launch date of September 12 is pushed back after the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks. October: with Motient heading into bankruptcy, they spin off their non-XM satellite division into a joint operation with TMI Communications and Company, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc. of Canada; the new venture is known as the Mobile Satellite Ventures. November: with Motient in bankruptcy, they sell off their controlling interest in XM to Hughes Electronics, SingTel and Baron Capital Partners. This ends Motient's interest in XM and begins XM's history as a stand-alone company. Hughes Electronics would go on to combine this new interest in with the interest already held by their subsidiary, DirecTV. November 12: XM Satellite Radio marks the official launch of full nationwide service. December 31: XM Satellite Radio ends the year with 27,733 subscribers.
2002	September 3: XM Satellite Radio adds Playboy Radio, an adult entertainment premium channel, available for an additional $2.99 per month.[8] December 31: XM Satellite Radio ends the year with 347,159 subscribers.
2003	January: with the launch and rollout taking longer and more costly than expected, the company undergoes a large and complicated re-capitalization plan. The plan involves XM exchanging US$300 million in old debt for new debt, while deferring interest for 3-years on the notes; as well as restructuring the payment obligations on the General Motors installation agreement, issuing a convertible bond to GM, issuing a warrant for shares to GM, and establishing a revolving credit facility with GM; and finally the plan included new funding coming from a placement of over US$300 million in 10% convertible bonds to a group of private investors. June: Veteran award-winning radio producer Joe Bevilacqua's radio theater extravaganza, The Comedy-O-Rama Hour, premieres on XM163 Sonic Theater Channel. Celebrity guests include Al Franken, Lewis Black, Shelley Berman, Bob Edwards, Nancy Cartwright and June Foray. July: the company has nearly 700,000 subscribers. December 31: XM Satellite Radio ends the year with 1,360,228 subscribers.
2004	January through March: With the sale of Hughes Electronics from General Motors to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., DirecTV's interest in XM Satellite Radio is sold off on the market. February 2: XM Radio announces 100% commercial free music lineup. March 1: XM Radio launched Instant Traffic and Weather Channels for major metropolitan markets in the United States. August 11: XM Radio subscriber base breaks the 2.5 million mark. The company partners with automakers General Motors, Honda, Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, and SAAB to offer in-dash XM receivers on an OEM basis. The Acura TL is the first luxury automobile to offer XM radio as "standard" in every vehicle. October 4: "Shock" jocks Opie and Anthony begin broadcasting on a premium ($1.99/month extra) XM Satellite Radio station. Also, former National Public Radio host Bob Edwards broadcasts the first Bob Edwards Show on XM Public Radio, channel 133. October 20: XM announces an 11-year, US$650 million deal with Major League Baseball to broadcast games live nationwide and become the Official Satellite Radio provider of Major League Baseball. The agreement grants XM the rights to use the MLB silhouetted batter logo and the collective marks of all major league clubs. As part of the deal, XM creates a 24/7 MLB channel called "Home Plate". The deal starts with the 2005 season and runs through the 2012, with a 3-year option that MLB can pick up. October 26: XM presents its first XM2go portable XM receiver: The Delphi MyFi. December 31: XM Satellite Radio ends the year with 3,229,124 subscribers.
2005	January 5: XM introduces two new XM2go models: Pioneer's AirWare and the Tao from Giant International. February 28: XM's third satellite, Rhythm, is launched successfully. March 3: XM becomes the exclusive satellite partner of the Indy Racing League and Indianapolis 500 (IMS Radio Network) April 1: XM announces that it has added 540,000 subscribers in Q1 2005, pushing their total subscriber base to 3.77 million. April 11: XM announces that a deal has been reached to be the official satellite radio network of Air America Radio. May 16: XM announces that subscribership has topped 4 million. This indicates exponential growth for the company. In five weeks time, they added 230,000 subscribers – almost 50% of the subscribers added during the previous quarter. May 28: the Wall Street Journal reports that XM has awarded the contract for the XM 5 spacecraft to Space Systems/Loral. June 7: XM partners with Audible.com to offer downloadable audio show archives of The Opie and Anthony Show, as well as The Bob Edwards Show. July 1: XM announces it has added more than 640,000 subscribers in Q2 2005, pushing their total subscriber base over 4.4 million. August 1: XM announces the addition of popular radio hosts Ron and Fez. August 1: XM announces a three-year partnership with the United States Tennis Association to broadcast the US Open tournament through 2007, as well as weekly reports from other US Open Series events. September 12: Ron and Fez join Opie and Anthony on High Voltage XM 202. September 13: XM announces a 10-year US$100 million deal to carry National Hockey League broadcasts beginning with the 2005–06 season, initially sharing the coverage with SIRIUS but gaining satellite-radio exclusivity from 2007 onward. September 27: XM announces it has surpassed 5 million subscribers. October 3: XM announces that they have added more than 617,000 new net subscribers during Q3 2005. October 3: XM Satellite Radio launches channel "Take 5" (XM 155). The channel is geared toward Women's Programming and features replays of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', The Tyra Banks Show, syndicated and original programming, as well as programming from the Food Network and HGTV. Additionally, XM Radio drops two of its Talk and Entertainment channels: MTV and VH1. XM adds 617,000 subscribers in Q3 2005, pushing the total subscriber base to over 5.03 million. October 18: XM announces it will begin carrying Fox News Talk in January 2006. November 15: DirecTV begins broadcasting 72 channels as part of their audio programming. This includes music channels, "Home Plate" (XM 175), and "High Voltage" (XM 202) but no news or sports channels. November 17:, XM launches their new Fall lineup of channels: "unSigned", "Air Musique", "Sur La Route", "Laugh Attack", "Canada 360", "Quoi de Neuf", "Franc Parler", and "Home Ice". November 29: XM launches service in Canada. December 29: XM and VoiceBox Technologies join forces to provide conversational voice-driven XM experience to auto market.[9] December 31: XM Satellite Radio ends the year with 5,932,957 subscribers.
2006	Chart depicting subscriber growth for XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio as of the end of 2006. January 2: XM begins broadcasting Fox News Talk as the channel launches. The channel includes commentators Bill O'Reilly, Tony Snow, John Gibson, and Alan Colmes. January 4: XM announces it has surpassed 6 million subscribers. January 9: XM wins top honors at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for their two new portable units that offer live programming on-the-go. The new radios are the XM Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix. They expect to be released during the end of March or beginning of April. February 9: XM announces they have signed a US$55 million three-year deal with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions. A new channel called "Oprah and Friends" will launch in September, which will be programmed by Winfrey and originate in the Harpo Studios in Chicago. The channel will feature programs hosted by a team of personalities who appear on her television show including Gayle King, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Robin Smith, Bob Greene and Nate Berkus. As part of the agreement, Oprah will appear in a weekly 30-minute program along with friend Gayle King. The program will air 39-weeks a year and feature taped phone conversations between Winfrey and King. March 1: XM launches channels "49 Big Tracks", "84 XM Chill", and "173 WLW" giving them 69 commercial free music channels, with the addition of WLW, a news talk channel. March 10: XM announces that the music stations programmed by Clear Channel ("21 Kiss XM", "22 Mix XM", "11 XM Nashville", and "24 XM Sunny") will begin airing some commercials beginning in April. This was a decision made by Clear Channel. In response, XM promises to add its own commercial-free versions of these channels in the near future. April 17: XM Launches 8 new Commercial Free Music Channels. The channels are, "XM 17 – U.S. Country" (commercial-free alternative to "Nashville"), "XM 26 – Flight 26" (commercial-free alternative to "MIX"), "XM 30 – XM Hitlist" (commercial-free alternative to "KISS"), "XM 34 – enLighten", "XM 42 – XM Liquid Metal" (brought back to the satellites after being an online-exclusive for over a year), "XM 68 – The Heat"(Formally "The Eye"), "XM 78 – Escape" (commercial-free alternative to "Sunny") and "XM 91 – Viva." On the same date, DirecTV changed its channel lineup to focus in on XM's commercial-free music too, which resulted in the removal of two XM talk channels, the addition of 4 new music channels and the replacement of the four Clear Channel programmed music channels that began airing commercials. Removed from DirecTV were XM's MLB channel "Home Plate" (DTV Channel 878) and "High Voltage" (DTV Channel 879). Added were "The Heat" (Formally "The Eye") (DTV Channel 825), "enLighten" (DTV Channel 828), "The Torch" (DTV Channel 829), "Liquid Metal" (DTV Channel 841) and "Viva" (DTV Channel 876). Replaced were "Nashville" (DTV Channel 809), "Kiss" (DTV Channel 817), "Mix" (DTV Channel 818), and "Sunny" (DTV Channel 820); DirecTV replaced those channels with the aforementioned new commercial-free versions programmed directly by XM, "U.S. Country," "XM Hitlist," "Flight 26," and "Escape", respectively. Also, XM Changed Names For Some Of Its Stations, XM 68 "the Eye" Became "The Heat", XM 32 "The Fish" Became "The Message" And XM 90 "Allegra" Became "Fuego". April 22: Thanks to the fans of the Opie and Anthony show (The O&A Pests) DirectTV adds XM 202 "High Voltage" (Dtv Channel 879) back to the channel lineup April 24: XM Satellite Radio officially announces the long rumored deal that Opie and Anthony would be syndicated back to terrestrial radio through CBS Radio. Joel Hollander, current showrunner at CBS Radio, was there for the announcement as was XM programming VP Eric Logan. April 26: Opie and Anthony's reformatted show debuts on 7 CBS Radio affiliates: New York City's WFNY-FM, Cleveland's WXRK (tape delayed, 3–6 PM), Boston's WBCN, West Palm Beach's WPBZ, Philadelphia's WYSP, Dallas' KLLI (now KRLD-FM), and Pittsburgh's WRKZ. Their show has been segmented so that 6 am – 9 AM is broadcast on both XM and CBS, and 9 am – 11 AM is XM exclusive. July 24: Nate Davis, formerly of XO Communications, was made the president and chief operating officer. August 15: XM begins playing chronologically every song to ever make the pop charts. This is expected to last well over a month. This playback is called "IT" The music is played on each decade channel. The music from the 1940s is played on the 40's on 4, then starting with music from January 1950 the music is played on the 50's on 5, and so on. Around August 26: XM Flight 26 is pulled from AOL Radio on the Mac platform. No explanation as to why this occurred, yet AOL Radio's homepage lists it in the Top 11 (despite the stream not appearing in the AOL program, which lists ten streams under "Top 11" instead of eleven). September 3: MSNBC – XM 130 is dropped from the XM news channel lineup. No explanation is given by XM, who made the decision to discontinue the news channel's feed. September 6: XM announces a Pink version of the Pioneer Inno, available exclusively at Circuit City (at first). US$30 from each unit sold goes to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's fight against breast cancer. September 25: "Oprah and Friends" radio officially launched on XM channel 156. October 30: The XM-4 "Blues" satellite was launched atop a Zenit 3SL rocket. December 15: XM Radio Hanukkah goes on the air. The first of its kind channel features contemporary and traditional Jewish music, along with comedy, and children's programming. The original programming includes the participation of notable Jews, like Barenaked Ladies, Matisyahu, Al Franken, Kinky Friedman, Neil Sedaka, Dr. Ruth and Larry Miller. December 18: XM announces they began broadcasting through XM-4 "Blues" on Friday, bringing the active satellites to XM-3 "Rhythm" and XM-4 "Blues" with original satellites XM-1 "Rock" and XM-2 "Roll" as in-orbit spares for the near-term.[10]
2007	January 18: The Federal Communications Commission rules that licensing regulations would prohibit a possible merger of XM and rival Sirius Satellite Radio. Recent remarks by top officials within both companies have hinted at a possible move to join forces to stave off billion-dollar losses associated with increased competition between the two services.[11] February 13: XM sells the transponders on XM-4 to Wells Fargo Bank in a leaseback agreement. This amounts to taking out a mortgage on the transponders; while the bank will own them, XM actually uses them and has the right to buy them back at any time. At the end of the lease period, XM will also have the option to buy them back.[12] February 19: XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio announce they will merge, creating a satellite radio giant.[13] See XM/Sirius merger. April 26: XM announces 1Q07 results, as well as surpassing eight million subscribers. The company also claims that they have an additional US$319 million in positive cashflow, giving them total available liquidity of US$719 million. May 15: XM suspends talk show hosts Opie & Anthony for 30 days over comments made on their program by a homeless man called "Homeless Charlie" on the previous day.[14] May 21 – May 22: XM experiences an outage that deprives many subscribers of service for almost twenty-four hours. The outage affected the satellite XM-3 ("Rhythm", or "SAT1" on receivers) along with terrestrial repeaters.[15] XM blames the situation on a "software glitch".[16] July 24: XM announces that CEO Hugh Panero will leave the company in August, with current President and COO Nate Davis stepping in to serve as President and interim CEO.[17] August 1: XM launches XM-X, featuring rebroadcasts of many XM-exclusive shows, on XM 2. The first day's programming consists of episodes of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour. August 5: XM upgrades its Neural Audio processing mechanism to improve sound quality across its music channel selection. November 8: XM launches XM59 – XM LED – The Led Zeppelin Channel.[18]
2008	March 7: XM Discontinues the XM LED channel. (According to the channel's website, it is taking a break for the summer) March 24: The United States Department of Justice declines to block the merger of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio after thirteen months of review.[19] July 25: The FCC approves the XM-Sirius merger.[20] August 16: Xm channel 51 "Mandatory Metallica" launches. The channel will be available from August 16 through September 30. The channel will play music from the entire Metallica catalog, including rare live recordings from the band's personal concert archives, extensive interviews with the band and more. October 13 & 14: Layoffs of XM on-air personnel are leaked on the internet. The initial names released include DJ's from all DJ'd decades channels, along with Deep Tracks, XMU, Ethel and Lucy. October 20: News that National Basketball Association broadcasts have been switched from Sirius to XM leaks on the internet. NBA broadcasts will now be heard on XM Channels 213–220, and are also said to be available to Sirius subscribers through the 'Best of XM' package, for Sirius receivers capable of receiving XM programming. October 27: According to the MySpace blog of "Beyond Jazz" host Michelle Sammartino, "Beyond Jazz", the modern jazz channel, will leave the air on November 14. "Beyond Jazz" personality Michelle Sammartino, host of "Jammin Jazz" was laid off on October 5. Russ Davis, program director of "Beyond Jazz" will be laid off on November 14. November 12: XM implements new channel lineup consisting of converged XM and Sirius programming.
2009	February 11: XM prepares to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. SIRI has a $1 Billion debt obligation in 2009 and $175 Million immediate obligation due February 17, 2009.[21] March 9: WXRK drops Opie & Anthony from their programming schedule ending their run on terrestrial radio. Opie & Anthony now heard only on satellite radio.

Technology[link]

XM provides digital programming directly from two high-powered satellites in geostationary orbit above the equator: XM Rhythm at 85° west longitude and XM Blues at 115° west longitude^[22] in addition to a network of ground-based repeaters. The combination of two satellites and a ground-based repeater network is designed to provide gap-free coverage anywhere within the contiguous U.S., the southern tip of Alaska, and in the southern part of Canada. The signal can also be received in the Caribbean Islands and most of Mexico (reports have stated that areas north of Acapulco are able to receive a steady signal^[23]), however XM is not yet licensed for reception by paid subscribers living in these areas.

The original satellites, XM-1 ("Rock") and XM-2 ("Roll") suffer from a generic design fault on the Boeing 702 series of satellites (fogging of the solar panels), which means that their lifetimes will be shortened to approximately six years instead of the design goal of 15 years.^[24][25] To compensate for this flaw, XM-3 ("Rhythm") was launched ahead of its planned schedule on February 28, 2005 and moved into XM-1's previous location of 85° WL. XM-1 was then moved to be co-located with XM-2 at 115° WL, where each satellite operated only one transponder (thus broadcasting half the bandwidth each) to conserve energy and cut the power consumption in half while XM-4 ("Blues") was readied for launch. Subsequently, XM launched ground-spare XM-4 ("Blues") ahead of schedule on October 30, 2006 into the 115° WL location to complete the satellite replacement program. On December 15, 2006 XM-1 was then powered down and drifted back to its original location at 85° WL, where it will remain as a backup to XM-3. XM-2 as well was powered down and remains as a backup to XM-4. This makes the current active satellites as XM-3 "Rhythm" and XM-4 "Blues" with two in-orbit spares.^[10][26]

XM Satellite Radio headquarters in Washington, D.C., near the NoMa – Gallaudet University Metro station.

On June 7, 2005, Space Systems/Loral announced that it had been awarded a contract for XM-5.^[27][28] XM-5 will feature two large unfurlable antennas. Sirius' Radiosat 5, also to be built by Loral, will have a similar single large antenna.

In American and Canadian metropolitan areas, XM and its Canadian licensee known as Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR), own and operate a network of approximately 900 terrestrial repeater stations, meant to compensate for satellite signal blockage by buildings, tunnels, and bridges. In the United States XM owns and operates approximately 800 repeater sites covering 60 markets; in Canada CSR is installing approximately 80 to 100 repeaters that will be owned and operated by CSR in the 16 largest Canadian cities. The actual number of repeater sites varies as the signal is regularly tested and monitored for optimal performance. The actual number of sites in the United States has dropped from the original 1,000 installed when the service first launched in 2001. The repeaters transmit in the same frequency band as the satellites. A typical city contains 20 or more terrestrial stations. Typically the receiver owner is unaware when a terrestrial station is being used, unless he or she checks antenna information from the receiver being used. Due to a FCC filing in October 2006, the latest list of XM's US terrestrial repeater network was made available to the public.

The XM signal uses 12.5 MHz of the S band: 2332.5 to 2345.0 MHz. XM provides 128 kilobits per second of its bandwidth to OnStar Corporation for use with XM-enabled GM vehicles, regardless of whether their owners are XM subscribers. American Honda also retains the right to some of the company's bandwidth to transmit messages to Acura vehicles via a service known as AcuraLink.

XM NavTraffic, an optional service, transmits coded traffic information directly to vehicle navigation systems using TMC technology.

Audio channels on XM are digitally compressed using the CT-aacPlus (HE-AAC) codec from Coding Technologies for most channels, and the AMBE codec from Digital Voice Systems for some voice channels, including all of the Traffic and Weather channels.

The XM radio signal is broadcast on 6 separate radio carriers within the 12.5 MHz allocation. The entire content of the radio service, including both data and audio content, is represented by only two carriers. The other 4 carriers carry duplicates of the same content to achieve redundancy through signal diversity. The data on each carrier is encoded using time-delayed and error-correction schemes to enhance availability. Effectively the total radio spectrum used for content is a little over 4 MHz.^[29]

Each two-carrier group broadcasts 100 8-kilobit-per-second streams in approximately 4 MHz of radio spectrum. These streams are combined using a patented process to form a variable number of channels using a variety of bitrates. Bandwidth is separated into segments of 4-kilobit-per-second virtual "streams" which are combined to form audio and data "channels" of varying bitrates from 4 to 64 kilobits-per-second.^[30]

XM preprocesses audio content using Neural Audio processors that are optimized for the aacPlus codec, including spectral band replication (SBR). Audio is stored digitally in Dalet audio library systems using an industry-standard MPEG-1 Layer II at 384 kbit/s, sometimes known as Musicam. The audio is further processed by the Neural Audio processors on the way to broadcast.

Sirius XM Pops a classical music station is broadcast in 5.1 surround sound audio quality. The technology, titled XM HD Surround, is the result of a partnership between XM and Neural Audio Corporation which provides content with six discrete channels of digital audio. XM Live also broadcasts in this format for certain concerts and studio performances. XM manufacturing partners such as Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., and Yamaha have introduced home audio systems capable of playing XM HD Surround.

Controlling interest[link]

The company's May 2004 proxy statement^[31] notes that four directors are subject to director designation agreements with GM, American Honda, the chairman, and the CEO. Four additional directors are investors, and two are not affiliated with any significant stockholders.

At that time, GM owned 8.6% of the Class A common stock (a voting percentage of less than 1%) and Honda owned 13% (with a voting percentage of 3.6%).

Unless they unanimously agree otherwise, control of the company remains with the preferred shareholder and noteholders of the company, including Hughes Electronics, GM, Honda, and several private investment groups.

Clear Channel programming agreement[link]

As part of terrestrial radio giant Clear Channel Communications' early investment into XM in 1998, the companies entered into agreements which provided for certain programming and director designation arrangements as long as Clear Channel retained the full amount of its original investment in XM. One positive consequence of this was that XM had (and still has) exclusive programming rights to all Clear Channel content, including popular national shows like Coast to Coast AM, but the shows could only be broadcast inside the bandwidth controlled by Clear Channel. In June 2003, Clear Channel entered into a forward sales agreement relating to its ownership of XM. During the third quarter of 2005, Clear Channel and XM arbitrated the impact of this agreement on the Operational Assistance Agreement and the Director Designation Agreement. The Arbitration Panel decided that the Operational Assistance Agreement would remain in effect, including Clear Channel's right to receive a revenue share of commercial advertising on programming it provides to XM, but declined to enforce the Director Designation Agreement, which forced the Mays family members off the board of directors. Per the original agreement, Clear Channel had the right to program 409.6 kbit/s (or 10%) of XM bandwidth, requiring XM to include commercial advertising on the existing Nashville!, KISS, Mix, and Sunny (now The Music Summit). The amount of advertising on the music channels amounts up to 4 minutes per hour, similar to the amount of advertising XM included before going commercial free. Exceptions include syndicated music shows which carry network spots. Clear Channel advertising on XM is handled by its subsidiary, Premiere Radio Networks. Clear Channel also provided existing talk channel programming (Fox Sports Radio, Extreme XM, Talk Radio). Clear Channel also controlled America Right (formerly Buzz XM), but through a series of show swaps, most non-Clear Channel content was removed and programming control returned to XM Radio. Plans to introduce new regional based talk channels, which would have featured a regional 5 minute newscast for each area of the country, were canceled. Instead Clear Channel chose to introduce other music and talk channels. Newer channels including ReachMD, America's Talk remain on the air. The Pink Channel, National Lampoon Comedy Radio, WSIX-FM, WLW, and Rock@Random were launched and later removed, and replaced by channels like Bollywood & Beyond, The Music Summit, and Sixx Sense, all of which are on the air today.

Seen as a blow to XM's 100% commercial-free music channel status, XM Executive Vice President of Programming Eric Logan released a programming announcement to XM subscribers on the company's website that reiterated XM's commitment to commercial-free music while noting that XM still had the most commercial-free music and that more commercial-free music channels will be added in the near future to ensure that XM will still have more commercial-free music than competitor Sirius Satellite Radio. On April 17, 2006, XM launched US Country (XM17), Flight 26 (XM26), XM Hitlist (XM30) and Escape (XM78) to provide commercial free music in the formats of the Clear Channel programmed music channels which were going to begin airing commercials. In response, Sirius has advertised that they are the only satellite radio provider that has 100% commercial-free music channels. Both XM and Sirius air commercials on their news, talk, and sports channels.

The Clear Channel forward sales agreement with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc was terminated on August 2, 2006. The termination resulted in Clear Channel Investments, Inc. paying Bear Stearns a total of $83.1 million, which was the value of Clear Channel's stake in XM. The accreted value of the debt was $92.9 million, and the fair value of the collar was an asset of $6.0 million, which resulted in a net gain of $3.8 million for Clear Channel.^[32]

XM vs RIAA[link]

In 2006, XM Satellite Radio was sued by the RIAA over XM's new portable devices the Inno and Helix. The RIAA claims these devices are equivalent to a downloading service, whereas XM contends the devices are protected under the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. In July, XM requested that a federal judge dismiss the case. It should be noted that XM's subscribers can save only songs they hear on the radio and cannot request a specific song to be downloaded or program their radios to record specific artists. XM's portable devices allow the consumer to record a portion of their broadcast much like a VCR, DVR, or cassette player would allow. The content a subscriber records is available only while the subscriber still has an active account with XM Satellite Radio. Once the account is terminated, the recorded content will become inaccessible. Also, If a subscriber fails to listen to a total of 8 hours of programming a month, the recorded content will not be accessible. Recorded content can be accessed only on the portable device; it cannot be transferred to a home computer or separate digital music player.

The idea is not new: TimeTrax Technologies Corporation developed an application to record songs to MP3 and tag them with the artist and title information directly from the XM network. In 2005 XM attempted to thwart this practice by discontinuing the required XM PCR radio. TimeTrax responded by quickly rolling out adaptive interfaces to allow almost any XM subscriber to use their tuner to build music libraries directly from XM broadcasts. There is speculation that these fumbles by XM and its attitude towards the Time Trax technology may have been the warning shot of major troubles between the RIAA and XM.

On January 19, 2007, a district judge ruled that the RIAA could proceed with the lawsuit, rejecting XM's defense that the conduct alleged in the complaint—if proved by the RIAA—would be immune under the Audio Home Recording Act of 1991.^[33]

PCR and DirectPCR[link]

At the heart of the TimeTrax controversy was the XM PCR: a computer-controlled XM Receiver. Unlike the other receivers, which could be used in the car or home stereo, the XM PCR required a computer to run. A software application on the computer acted as the radio's controls and display, which led to a flurry of third party developers, who wanted to make a PCR replacement. Many of them received Cease and Desist letters from the XM company. Once the PCR was discontinued, for the reasons listed above, people found that the XM Direct, a receiver intended to be used in satellite-ready car stereos, can be connected to a computer with a very simple adapter cable. Some people have dubbed the entire kit, with receiver, cable, and software, the Direct PCR. While the original PCR software does not control the XM Direct receiver, several community developers have continued to develop PCR replacement software.

Merger with Sirius Satellite Radio[link]

On February 19, 2007, XM announced a merger deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. The merger combined the two radio services and created a single Satellite Radio network in the United States and Canada.^[13]

The United States Department of Justice announced on March 24, 2008 that it had closed its investigation of the merger because it "concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius was likely to substantially lessen competition."^[34]

On June 16, 2008, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the Washington Post that he had decided to approve the XM-Sirius Merger after the companies agreed in the previous week to concessions intended to prevent the new company from raising prices or stifling competition. Martin issued an order to approve the merger, according to The Wall Street Journal – setting the stage for a final vote which could have occurred any time after his recommendation was circulated.

The XM-Sirius Merger gained its final governmental approval from the Federal Communications Commission on July 25, 2008, with Martin and commissioners Robert M. McDowell and deciding vote Deborah Taylor Tate voting in the affirmative. As a term of the merger, the combined company will be fined almost $20 million for failing to create and market interchangeable radios capable of receiving signals from both companies prior to the merger.^[20]

iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Android applications[link]

Sirius XM developed a software application for use on the Apple iPhone and Apple iPod Touch devices that will allow Sirius XM subscribers to listen to its programming over the Apple devices. The Sirius XM iPhone App became available in the Apple iTunes store on June 17, 2009.

All Premium Sirius XM Internet Radio subscribers are able to download the application from the Apple iTunes App-Store for free onto their device and access the service. Subscribers who listened to the Basic Online Service for free must first upgrade to the Premium Online Service for $2.99 per month to access the application on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Sirius XM debuted a new web page [1] to market the application.

On February 4, 2010, Sirius XM released an app for the Research In Motion BlackBerry line of smartphones, including the Storm (Series 9500), Bold (Series 9000 and 9700), Tour (Series 9600) and Curve (Series 8500 and 8900). Like the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch application, the BlackBerry app is free but requires a Premium Sirius XM Online subscription.

Sirius XM is also available for download on Android devices through the Android Market.

The applications carry most of the XM music, talk, sports and entertainment programming, as well as some exclusive Internet-only content. The mobile applications also carry a select number of channels from the "Best of SIRIUS/XM" packages, dependent on the subscriber's subscription level.

Canada[link]

In November 2004, Canadian Satellite Radio filed an application with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to bring the XM service to Canada. Along with Sirius Canada and the consortium of CHUM Limited and Astral Media, CSR was one of three applications for national subscription radio services submitted to the CRTC.

On June 16, 2005, the CRTC approved all three applications. The decisions were appealed to the Canadian federal cabinet by a number of broadcasting, labour, and arts and culture organizations, including the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, CHUM Limited, and the National Campus and Community Radio Association. The groups objected to the satellite radio applicants' approach to and reduced levels of Canadian content and French-language programming, along with the exclusion of Canadian non-commercial broadcasting. After a lengthy debate, Cabinet rejected the appeals on September 9, 2005.

XM's Canadian channels appeared on US receivers on November 17, 2005. On November 29, 2005, XM Canada officially launched.

See also[link]

• Boeing Satellite Systems
• List of XM Satellite Radio channels
• Sirius Satellite Radio
• 1worldspace
• XM Radio Canada
• XM Satellite Radio channel history

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (United States)
• Official website (Canada)
• Official XM For Business website (for commercial use)
• XMwxweather.com

v t e Telecommunications (general) History Beacons Broadcasting Communications satellites Computer networks Drums Electrical telegraphs Fax Heliographs Hydraulic telegraphs Internet Mass media Mobile phones Optical telegraphy Photophones Radio Radiotelephones Telegraphy Telephones The Telephone Cases Television Undersea telegraph lines Videophones Pioneers Edwin Howard Armstrong John Logie Baird Alexander Graham Bell Tim Berners-Lee Jagadish Chandra Bose Vint Cerf Claude Chappe Lee De Forest Philo Farnsworth Reginald Fessenden Elisha Gray Guglielmo Marconi Alexander Stepanovich Popov Johann Philipp Reis Nikola Tesla Alfred Vail Charles Wheatstone Vladimir K. Zworykin Media Coaxial cable Free-space optical Optical fiber Radio waves Telephone lines Terrestrial microwave Networks ARPANET BITNET Ethernet FidoNet ISDN Internet Local area Mobile NGN Packet switched Public Switched Telephone Radio Television Telex Wide area World Wide Web Wireless Geographic v t e Telecommunications in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Azawad Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara v t e Telecommunications in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia People's Republic of China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine Republic of China (Taiwan) South Ossetia Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau v t e Telecommunications in Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependencies and other territories Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Svalbard Other entities European Union v t e Telecommunications in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Navassa Island Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands v t e Telecommunications in Oceania Sovereign states Australia East Timor (Timor-Leste) Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Dependencies and other territories American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna v t e Telecommunications in South America Sovereign states Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies and other territories Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations. While in Europe many primarily-FM radio stations provide an additional unencrypted satellite feed, there are also subscription based digital packages of numerous channels that do not broadcast terrestrially, notably in the US. In Europe, FM radio is used by many suppliers that use a network of several local FM repeaters to broadcast a single programme to a large area, usually a whole nation. Many of those have an additional satellite signal that can be heard in many parts of the continent. In contrast, US terrestrial stations are always local and each of them has a unique programme, albeit they are sometimes interconnected for syndicated contents; but each local station still carries its own commercial and news breaks even then. This means that a national distribution of the contents of original terrestrial stations via satellite makes no real sense in the US, wherefore satellite radio is used in a different way there. History: Began broadcasting January 5, 2001 at 11:17AM Eastern, Tim McGraw was the first artist ever played on satellite radio. He gave a special welcome introduction which segued into his song "Things Change" on Sirius! Mobile services, such as Sirius, XM, and Worldspace, allow listeners to roam across an entire continent, listening to the same audio programming anywhere they go. Other services, such as Music Choice or Muzak's satellite-delivered content, require a fixed-location receiver and a dish antenna. In all cases, the antenna must have a clear view to the satellites. In areas where tall buildings, bridges, or even parking garages obscure the signal, repeaters can be placed to make the signal available to listeners.

Radio services are usually provided by commercial ventures and are subscription-based. The various services are proprietary signals, requiring specialized hardware for decoding and playback. Providers usually carry a variety of news, weather, sports, and music channels, with the music channels generally being commercial-free.

In areas with a relatively high population density, it is easier and less expensive to reach the bulk of the population with terrestrial broadcasts. Thus in the UK and some other countries, the contemporary evolution of radio services is focused on Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) services or HD Radio, rather than satellite radio.

Business applications[link]

Satellite radio, particularly in the United States, has become a major provider of background music to businesses such as hotels, retail chains, and restaurants. Compared to old-line competitors such as Muzak, satellite radio's significantly lower price, commercial-free channel variety, and more reliable technology make it a very attractive option.^{[citation needed]} Both North American satellite radio providers offer business subscriptions, though given the merger of XM Satellite Radio with Sirius, the future of XM for Business is uncertain. Sirius's commercial services are provided nationally by third-party partner Applied Media Technologies Corporation^{[citation needed]}.

System design[link]

Satellite radio uses the 2.3 GHz S band in North America and generally shares the 1.4 GHz L band with local Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) stations elsewhere. It is a type of direct broadcast satellite and is strong enough that it requires no satellite dish to receive. Curvature of the earth limits the reach of the signal, but due to the high orbit of the satellites, two or three are usually sufficient to provide coverage for an entire continent.

Local repeaters similar to broadcast translator boosters enable signals to be available even if the view of the satellite is blocked, for example, by skyscrapers in a large town. Major tunnels can also have repeaters. This method also allows local programming to be transmitted such as traffic and weather in most major metropolitan areas, as of March 2004.

Each receiver has an Electronic Serial Number (ESN) Radio ID to identify it. When a unit is activated with a subscription, an authorization code is sent in the digital stream telling the receiver to allow access to the blocked channels. Most services have at least one "free to air" or "in the clear" (ITC) channel as a test. For example, Sirius uses channel 184, Sirius Weather & Emergency.

Most (if not all) of the systems in use now are proprietary, using different codecs for audio data compression, different modulation techniques, and/or different methods for encryption and conditional access.

Like other radio services, satellite radio also transmits program-associated data (PAD or metadata), with the artist and title of each song or program and possibly the name of the channel.

Satellite radio vs. other formats[link]

Satellite radio differs from AM or FM radio and digital television radio (or DTR) in the following ways. The table applies primarily to the United States.

² The sound quality with both satellite radio providers and DTR providers varies with each channel. Some channels have near CD-quality audio, and others use low-bandwidth audio suitable only for speech. Since only a certain amount of bandwidth is available within the licenses available, adding more channels means that the quality on some channels must be reduced. Both the frequency response and the dynamic range of satellite channels can be superior to most, but not all AM or FM radio stations, as most AM and FM stations clip the audio peaks to sound louder; even the worst channels are still superior to most AM radios, but a very few AM tuners are equal to or better than the best FM or satellite broadcasts when tuned to a local station, even if not capable of stereo. AM does not suffer from multipath distortion or flutter in a moving vehicle like FM, nor does it become silent as you go behind a big hill like satellite radio.

³ Some satellite radio services and DTR services act as in situ repeaters for local AM/FM stations and thus feature a high frequency of interruption.

⁴ Nonprofit stations and public radio networks such as CBC/Radio-Canada, NPR, and PRI-affiliated stations and the BBC are commercial-free. In the US, all stations are required to have periodic station identifications and public service announcements.

⁵ In the United States, the FCC regulates technical broadcast spectrum only. Program content is unregulated. However, the FCC has tried in the past to expand its reach to regulate content to satellite radio and cable television, and its options are still open to attempt such in the future. The FCC does issue licenses to both satellite radio providers (XM and Sirius) and controls who holds these licenses to broadcast.

⁶ Degree of content regulation varies by country; however, the majority of industrialized nations have regulations regarding obscene and/or objectionable content.

United States[link]

In the United States and Canada, one holding company, Sirius XM Radio, operates the two satellite radio services, after a merger (technically the acquisition of XM by Sirius) in July 2008. A monthly fee is charged for both services. As of 2005, Sirius also offered a one-time lifetime subscription fee of nearly $500 valid for the lifetime of the equipment, and there was a $70.00 USD fee for switching receivers, which could be done only three times. However, as of 2012, Sirius customer service reports that lifetime subscriptions are no longer offered. Some XM music channels have commercials, while Sirius is commercial-free. Both services have commercial-free music stations, as well as talk and news stations, some of which include commercials. XM uses fixed-location geostationary satellites in two positions, and Sirius uses three geosynchronous satellites in highly elliptical orbits passing over North and South America, to transmit the digital streams. The net difference is that the Sirius signal comes from a higher elevation angle in the northern part of the U.S. and even more so in Canada. (This higher angle makes Sirius' signal less likely to drop out on cities, but more likely to drop out in parking garages, gas stations, tunnels, and other covered spaces.)

Both services are available mainly via portable receivers in automobiles, but both have many accessories so one can listen at home through a home stereo, with a portable boombox, or online through a personal computer. Both services now have some form of receiver that is completely portable.

Satellite radio's chief asset is the fact that it is not localized: drivers can receive the same programming anywhere in the footprint of the service. A stop at any truck stop will demonstrate the popularity of Sirius XM among long-haul drivers. In addition, both XM and Sirius carry programming that is simply not feasible on commercial radio stations. Specialty stations cover things such as family talk, radio drama, classical music, and live events.

The footprint of both Sirius and XM is only the United States, Canada, and the upper third of Mexico. Although It does not cover portions of Alaska or the state of Hawaii as satellite TV does, SiriusXM has been given the green light by the FCC to expand its services into the two states in 2011, even though the date as to when it will be available in those states has yet to be announced.

Success so far[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

As of November, 2010 Sirius XM claims over 20 million subscribers.^[1] One critical factor for the success of satellite radio is the deployment of in-car receivers. Sirius XM has attempted to convince automakers to equip vehicles with their receiver. As of 2008, the following manufacturers offer satellite radio as original equipment:

Sirius has an exclusive contract for VW and Audi vehicles from 2007 through 2012^{[citation needed]}. Those brands previously offered both services. GM, Honda and Suzuki are all major investors in XM; Sirius is not offered as options in their vehicles.^[2] Bentley and Rolls-Royce come not only with receivers but lifetime subscriptions for Sirius service as well. XM is featured in select Harley-Davidson motorcycle models, while Sirius can be heard in several brands of recreational vehicles and boats.^{[citation needed]}

One of the challenges for satellite radio has been to move away from cars and into the homes of consumers.^{[citation needed]} Several portable satellite radio receivers have been made for this purpose. XM satellite radio has developed the XM2go line of "Walkman-like" portable receivers, such as the Delphi MyFi, the Pioneer AirWare and Giant International's Tao. Polk Audio makes a component-style home XM Reference Tuner^[3] and a tabletop entertainment system, the I-Sonic,^[4] with XM capability. Sirius has developed the Kenwood Portable Satellite Radio Tuner, Sirius S50, Here2Anywhere and the Sirius Stiletto 100.^[5] The Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix for XM were among the first portable receivers to offer the ability of recording live content for playback later. Thus allowing for satellite radio to compete more fully with MP3 players.

While key agreements with automobile manufacturers are still being made, both companies have made the leap away from satellite radio only in the car and into the homes of consumers. One bump in the road to becoming more widely used in the home was both Sirius and XM running into legal issues in early 2006 with the FCC about their internal FM Transmitters. This required Sirius and XM to pull several of their models off the shelf and fix the problem. The FCC was claiming that the emissions of the internal FM Transmitters were too powerful and needed to be lowered. With these changes any customer buying a new satellite radio receiver doesn't achieve nearly the broadcast distance as the old models. Since this is a key point in the ability to use a satellite radio in the home (i.e. by taking the signal received and then broadcasting it to multiple points throughout the home at the same time and avoid having to bring the satellite radio with them as they move around the home) it has led many subscribers to use an external Personal FM transmitter to replace the lower powered internal FM Transmitter. Since these external FM Transmitters are Part 15 compliant they can broadcast the signal further than the new internal FM Transmitters now included in the satellite radios and still be legal. These external FM transmitters may prevent a slow down in the progress already made into the home consumer market for Sirius and XM satellite radio.

Satellite radio technology was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2002.

Canada[link]

On November 1, 2004, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) began hearing applications for Canada's first satellite radio operations. Three applications were filed: one by Standard Broadcasting and the CBC in partnership with Sirius, one by Canadian Satellite Radio in partnership with XM, and one at the last minute by CHUM Limited and Astral Media.

The first two would use the same systems already set up for the U.S., while CHUM's application was for a subscription radio service delivered through existing terrestrial DAB transmitters rather than directly by satellite (although satellites would be used to deliver programming to the transmitters). The CHUM service was all-Canadian; the other two applications propose to offer a mix of Canadian-produced channels and existing channels from their American partner services.

A small "grey market" already existed for Sirius and XM receivers in Canada in which a Canadian would use an American address to register their receiver and setup.

On June 16, 2005, the CRTC approved all three services.^[6]

In its decision, the CRTC required the following conditions from the satellite radio licensees:

• A minimum of eight channels must be produced in Canada, and for each Canadian channel, nine foreign channels can be broadcast.
• At least 85% of the content on the Canadian-produced channels (whether musical or spoken word) must be Canadian.
• At least 25% of the Canadian channels must be French-language stations.
• At least 25% of the music aired on the Canadian channels must be new Canadian music.
• At least 25% of the music played on the Canadian channels must be from up-and-coming Canadian artists.

These conditions were an extension of the existing Canadian content rules applicable to all broadcasters in Canada. The applicants had until 13 November 2005, to notify the CRTC of their decision. Both companies managed to negotiate the standards a little to their favor, and in return, they would instead play 50% French content as opposed to 25%. Also, XM Canada succeeded in getting an extra five channels of National Hockey League Play-by-Play onto their platform, without an additional channel creation, by agreeing to cover every Canadian team's game during the season.

CHUM appealed the decision, claiming they would not survive if Sirius and XM both were allowed in the Canadian market, and that the licence conditions regarding Canadian content imposed on Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Canada were too lax. Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Canada countered that CHUM was simply trying to create a monopoly in the Canadian market.

In late August 2005, Heritage Minister Liza Frulla asked the federal cabinet to review the CRTC decision and possibly send it back to the CRTC for further review. Lobbyists complained that the CRTC decision did not require enough Canadian content from the broadcasters. The broadcasters responded by promising to add additional Canadian and French content.

After vigorous lobbying from both sides, the federal cabinet officially accepted the CRTC decision on September 10, 2005.

XM satellite radio was launched in Canada on November 29, 2005. Sirius followed later on December 1, 2005. Monthly subscription rates are $12.99 for XM (85 channels) with a one-time activation fee of $19.99 and $14.99 for Sirius with a one-time activation fee of $19.99 (100 channels). (All prices are in Canadian dollars.) The CHUM/Astral service never launched, and its license expired on June 16, 2007.

Following the merger of Sirius and XM in the United States in 2010, the Canadian companies did not immediately follow suit, but continued as competing providers even as their programming became increasingly integrated. They subsequently reached a merger deal, becoming Sirius XM Canada in June 2011.^[7]

Europe[link]

Eutelsat W2A satellite carrying a Solaris Mobile ([1] an Eutelsat and SES joint venture) DVB-SH S band payload was launched on 3 April 2009.

WorldSpace Europe ([2]) and ONDAS Media ([3]) will use ETSI SDR for their new networks covering Europe.

See also[link]

Radio portal

• Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
• List of United States radio networks
• Ripping music from satellite radio broadcasts
• XM/Sirius merger
• MobaHo!
• Satellite subcarrier audio

References[link]

External links[link]

• Orbitcast Satellite radio trade publication

Dave Mason
Dave Mason in 1974.
Background information
Birth name	David Thomas Mason
Born	(1946-05-10) 10 May 1946 (age 66) Worcester, England
Genres	Rock, folk-rock, pop, psychedelic rock
Occupations	Session musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, sitar
Years active	1960s–present
Labels	Blue Thumb, Columbia
Associated acts	Traffic, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac, Cass Elliot
Website	www.dave-mason.com

David Thomas "Dave" Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic.^[1] In his long career, Mason has played and recorded with many of the era's most notable rock musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Delaney Bramlett, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac and Cass Elliot. Mason's best known song is "Feelin' Alright", recorded by Traffic in 1968 and later by many other performers, including Joe Cocker, who had a major hit with the song in 1969. For Traffic, he also wrote "Hole in My Shoe", a psychedelic pop song that became a hit in its own right. "We Just Disagree", Mason's 1977 solo hit written by Jim Krueger, has become a staple of Classic Hits and Adult Contemporary radio playlists.^[2][3]

Musical career[link]

Mason's tenure with Traffic was disjointed. He co-founded the group, but left following the recording of their debut album, Mr. Fantasy (1967), only to rejoin halfway through the sessions for their next album, Traffic (1968), after which he left again. Last Exit (1969), a compilation of odds and ends, features little material by Mason apart from his song "Just For You". Traffic later re-formed without Mason, although he briefly toured with the band in 1971 as captured on Welcome to the Canteen. Even during his brief spells with the group, Mason never quite fit in; Steve Winwood later recalled "We all [Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood] tended to write together, but Dave would come in with a complete song that he was going to sing and tell us all what he expected us to play. No discussion, like we were his backing group."^[4]

Mason was a friend of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, whose career was launched in England in 1966. Hendrix first heard the song "All Along the Watchtower", by Bob Dylan, at a party to which he was invited by Mason, and promptly decided to record his own version. That night he recorded the song at Olympic Studios, South West London, with Mason playing acoustic guitar. It was released on the Electric Ladyland album in September 1968.^[5] When the song came out as a single in October, it hit #5 on the UK Singles Chart and was a Top 40 in the U.S. Mason later recorded his own version of the song on his self-titled 1974 album, Dave Mason, with Bob Glaub on bass.

Mason appears on the Rolling Stones' 1968 album Beggars Banquet, although uncredited.^[6] Mason's connection was Jimmy Miller. Miller served as producer for the Stones and Traffic. In 1969–1970, Mason toured with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends along with Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Mason appears on George Harrison's 1970 solo set All Things Must Pass. In 1970, Dave was slated to be the second guitarist for Derek and the Dominos, but left the group before they entered the studio. He co-wrote the song "Big Thirst" on Oh How We Danced by Jim Capaldi (Mason's bandmate in the Hellions, Deep Feeling, and Traffic), as well as playing the guitar solo on "Don't be a Hero".

After Traffic, Mason pursued a moderately successful solo career. His first single, "Just for You" had "Little Woman" as the B-side, with Family backing him, following his production of Family's first album. His song writing and sound culminating on his 1970 album Alone Together with backing of drummer Jim Gordon.^[7] In the early 1970s he enlisted his friend, singer-songwriter Ray Kennedy to tour and write for his next album. In the mid-late 1970s, he toured and recorded with guitarist Jim Krueger, keyboardist Mike Finnigan, bassist Gerald Johnson and drummer Rick Jaeger. The 1976 album, Certified Live is a display of Mason's songwriting, arranging, vocal and guitar talents. In 1977, Mason had his biggest hit with "We Just Disagree", written by Jim Krueger. Reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was later successfully recorded by country singer Billy Dean. Mason's 1980 single, "Save Me", featured a duet with Michael Jackson.

For a brief period in the 1990s, Mason joined Fleetwood Mac and released the album Time with them in 1995.

In 2002, he released the DVD, Dave Mason: Live at Sunrise. It featured a live performance at the Sunrise Musical Theater in Sunrise, Florida,^[8] backed by Bobby Scumaci on keyboards, Johnne Sambataro on rhythm guitar (who rejoined Mason for the DVD, after previously touring with him in 1978), Richard Campbell on bass and Greg Babcock on drums.

At one time, Mason lived in the Ojai Valley in California. As of 2005, he was performing about 100 shows a year with the Dave Mason Band across the U.S. and Canada.

Philanthropy[link]

Mason is a proponent of music education for children. In 2005, he signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S. He sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member. Mason also is a founding board member of Yoga Blue, a non profit organization devoted to teaching yoga and other holistic practices to those recovering from substance abuse and other self destructive disorders. Mason, together with his longtime friend John Niekrash, is also involved in the program Work Vessels for Veterans (WVFV), an all volunteer movement that provides veterans transitioning to civilian work with tools that have ranged from computers to boats to tractors.

Discography[link]