The birth of satellite radio in the United States

When the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the “S” band (2.3 GHz) for the broadcasting of digital radio services in 1992 no one thought the amplitude that the system would take in the future. From the initial Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) things progressed until two companies were given licenses to broadcast digital radio in 1997. These two were American Mobile Radio (today known as XM Satellite Radio) and CD Radio (presently called Sirius Satellite Radio). The fact that satellite radio is nationwide makes it a very attractive media channel, both for commercial and non-profit organizations. The two companies that initiated the development of satellite radio saw the huge potential it had, since it wasn’t confined by the limitations of other terrestrial broadcasters.

Benefits of using satellite radio

Here are some of the most noteworthy benefits of having a satellite radio system:

* No more geographical limitations – since the radio program is broadcast through a satellite you don’t have to switch radio stations every time you leave a certain coverage area.
* The digital quality of the satellite radio has some amazing benefits on its own. There are no noise disturbances that were traditional to FM and AM broadcasts. The transmission is crystal clear and satellite radio receives some valuable points when broadcasting quality is concerned.
* Analog radio stations simply cannot broadcast the full range of sounds available through digital satellite radio.
* Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio can be picked up on all the US territory and they are also available in some parts of Canada and Mexico.

Satellite radio technology

Each of the major satellite radio services uses its own equipment to broadcast the signal to their clients. The competition is tight and customers have to “pick sides” in order to benefit from satellite radio broadcasting. You have to choose your preferred company and purchase adequate receivers for that particular company. Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio provide their clients with different ways of receiving their services. The field where most competition takes place is in the negotiation with the major automobile manufacturers. Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio have deals with the auto industry giants in order to offer their services and equipment as optional on the car models they produce. Other partnerships were created with audio equipment manufacturers, who now offer satellite radio transceivers and matching headsets. The most recent shock in the satellite radio universe was caused by the production of portable MP3 player-like satellite radio receivers.

The future development of satellite radio

One of the main problems of satellite radio was addressed by the main satellite radio broadcasters. Since you need to be in the line of sight of the satellite to receive the transmission, different problems appeared with mobile satellite radio receivers, especially when different landscaping objects blocked the direct transmission. To solve this, land based devices were installed in order to eliminate the lack of direct satellite transmission. Another interesting aspect related to satellite radios is that they approached their service offers from a different perspective than traditional radio broadcasters. Instead of airing commercials they charge a subscription fee. For many people, this is actually the best alternative, since they get an almost 100% content broadcast (whether it’s music or talk shows) without the 10-12 minutes per hour of annoying commercials. In most cases, the monthly subscription for satellite radio is of around $12.

ICFSW7600G.2CE7 Sony Portable Receiver

The price of this model varies at around $200, its frequencies being 150 kHz -30Mhz (LW/MW/SW), 76-108 Mhz (FM). It has 100 memory presets, an audio output of 380 mW, size of 190×118.8×35 mm and the weight of 608 g.
The nice thing about this model is that it provides LCD read-out in 1 kHz steps, can be electronically tuned and the frequency can be adjusted on the keyboard. For its modes (AM, SSB, FM) you can listen to stations from all around the world. As additional features, you can use the receiver as a clock or alarm.

ICFSW11S.CE7

For $40, this model is a bargain. It has a led tuning indicator, frequencies between 153-279 kHz (LW), 530-1602 kHz (MW), 76-108 Mhz (FM), audio output of 100mW, size of 155×90x33 mm and it weights 340 g. As a drawback on this model is that you can listen to FM stereo only throughout the headphones.

ICFSW12S.CE7

Last but not least, Sony is offering a world receiver that is a handy companion for people who travel a lot. It has twin digital clock display and clock controls, telescopic whip, and the unit closes itself when not in use. Regarding technical details, the ICFSW12S.CE7 portable receiver cathes frequencies between 530-1605 kHz (MW), 4750-21750 Mhz (SW), 87-108 Mhz (FM), it has dial tunning, Led tunning indicator, an audio output of 100 mW, size of 111×30.5×80.3 mm and weighs 233 g. The average price is $100.

As for car kits and accessories, home kits are available at an average price of $130, the package containing a home dock, a power supply, an antenna, and an adaptor between mini-stereo to twin RCA. If you want to purchase a car kit, you can found one at a price of $129.99. Although it’s hard to find one, you can purchase a FM Modulator, if you don’t have a car radio with a cassette player. Also, for $64.99 you can buy 50 ft. cable extension, which connects to your home antenna, providing more cable, thus, more space.

Sirius Satellite Radio covers the entire US territory. The high quality of the broadcasting signal produced by using the most advanced digital encoding technology makes the transmission clear and accurate. The fidelity of the sound transmitted digitally is much better than any analog radio provider can offer. The noise disturbances often associated to FM and AM broadcasts are now eliminated and the transmission is clear and almost identical in quality with the original track. Sirius Satellite Radio holds one of the two FCC approved licenses for delivering digital radio in the United States. The digital radio broadcaster only shares the field of Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services (SDARS) with Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc. Here is some more information on the Sirius company:
Corporate headquarters: New York City, New York
Date of launch: July 1, 2002
Satellites in service: 3
Available satellite radio channels:120
Monthly subscription cost:$12.95
Sirius Satellite Radio is truly an impressive corporation. Located in the heart of New York City with a huge recording studio situated in the Rockefeller Center, Sirius Satellite Radio has a huge library of over 2 million music tracks. The quality of the transmission is very high as it is in the 128kb/sec format – which is similar to CD audio quality. The company uses digitized signals through the PAC encoding technology, providing high fidelity broadcasts all over the United States.

The Sirius satellite
The three Loral SS/L-1300 commercial satellites used by Sirius deliver constant digital radio broadcasting to Sirius’ subscribers. As with most commercial satellites, the Loral SS/L-1300s orbit above the Earth at 22 300 miles. Very similar to XMs satellites, the Loral SS/L-1300 commercial satellites have a more inclined orbit which allows them to cover an even more extended area. The elevation angle of 60 degrees is more generous than the regular 45 degrees used by geostationary satellites. Since one of the most problematic aspects of satellite radio broadcasting is the line of sight – which can be easily interrupted by landscape or buildings – the Loral SS/L-1300 commercial satellites have a slight advantage over their competitors, since they have a clearer line of sight. The three satellites used for broadcasting slowly orbit around the Earth and only two of them are functional at any time. This is because Sirius only has two transmission frequencies and by alternating satellite transmission they can eliminate interferences while also having a spare satellite to put to use in case something goes wrong with one of the others. The 3 satelites take turns broadcasting – when one of them leaves the footprint of the continental U.S. another picks up the broadcasting transmission. Since the more inclined orbit provides better coverage, Canada and Mexico are also well covered by the digital broadcasting. This is an interesting feature of the Sirius satellite radio, as it enhances the benefit of not having to switch radio stations during long trips or while traveling outside US borders. Sirius has also announced a collaboration with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Standard Radio Inc. This would allow anyone in Canada to benefit from Sirius’ services while using any of the Canadian English and French channels.

Sirius broadcasting

Because the broadcast signal used in satellite radio transmission is so strong, you only need a small receiver in order to be able to listen to it. By using small omni-directional antennas you can take your digital radio programs wherever you are – either on the road or at home. The technology used is similar to GPS devices and the receivers don’t require pointing. Some of the new features of satellite radio refer to the extended broadcast information abilities, and the transmission can supply information on artist, music title or genre. One of the developments Sirius is working on is streaming video broadcasting – something that will probably become available to the general public soon after the technology and broadcasting methods become secure enough.

Music channels seem to be numberless, but unfortunately they aren’t even tough there are plenty of music stations that please every person no matter what gender of songs he or she likes. So, there are country music channels that include New Country, Classic Country, Alternative Country and Bluegrass. For hip-hop lovers, Sirius satellite radio has 4 channels: Hip-Hop Nation, Shade 45, Wax and Back Spin and not to mention the other streams where you’re ears will be delighted with house, club mixes, electronic a, disco, R&B, reggae and not to forget rock(classic, alternative, mellow, metal, blues) music. For classical tastes, there are three channels: classical pops, chamber music and classical voices. But if you are a jazz type of person you can relax by turning the radio on one of the six-channels of non-stop jazz.

There a lot of music programs that are hosted by international and national artist like Eminem, David Johansen Steve Van Zant, the Rolling Stone’s producer who can be listen on the Underground Garage channel.

Sirius has a beautiful collection of uncensored comedy that is available to you. You only have to tune into Sirius’s stream Raw Dog where you can listen to George Carlin, Margaret Cho, Cheech and Chong, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock

In the sports area, Sirius Radio has a terrific collection of channels and only enumerating those takes a lot of time. But here is a sum-up: the NBA, the NFL and the NHL. And besides this, Sirius wants to bring to you tournaments of men’s basketball games, the lineup of 27 college hoops programs and the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and for the ones who love cars, in 2007 they will have the possibility to listen to all NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races.

Besides entertainment, Sirius has a series of news and talk channels: ABC News & Talk, BBC World Service, BBC Mundo, Bloomberg, CNBC, Court TV, C-Span, CNN Headline News, Discovery Channel, E Entertainment, two ESPN channels, Fox News, Hispanic Talk, Radio Disney, Sirius Trucking Network, the Weather Channel, the liberal network Air America and more. Besides this, it also includes a gay/lesbian news and talk station.

It seems that Sirius tries to satisfy as many demands they can, judging by the wide variety of programs. And having all of these advantages, Sirius is a really determined challenger for the XM.

In comparison with the XM, the Sirius satellite radio has less quality in sound and the XM’s stereo separation is wider. So, we all hope for improvement.

In terms of gadgets, XM has more technology than Sirius radio. There are no MyFi’s, but instead Sirius has the XACT XTR1 that is a limited portable version of the MyFi. And Sirius has no turners with TiVo-like features as the equipments provided by XM. There are companies like Alpine, Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Clarion, Delphi, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Sanyo, and Tivoli that produce Sirius hardware.

The satellite radio has a very good sound quality, no static and no interference, a quality that may be compared with the one of a CD. The radio is based on a go/no-go system based on the strength of the signal. So, weak signal may cause dropouts.
You can easily get information about songs and artists right on you satellite radio receiver that can also help you select channels and categories. This makes it easier for you to choose the exact channel or song you want to hear. So, whenever you are wondering what song or channel you are listening to just read the information that the receiver shows.

Now you can get satellite radio wherever you like, eventough at first it was design only for car use. With the right equipment you can easily have radio, but it depends on you whether you subscribe at XM or Sirius. Unfortunately, you can’t use a satellite radio turner for both XM and Sirius. There are three types of turners depending on where you want to listen to satellite radio. The Plug-and-play turner can be used out-door wherever you like as long as you have a portable boombox that can receive the signal. There are turners especially made for using them in cars and the home satellite radio turners for using them at home.

Both companies want now to offer a video service. This is planned to happen in the second half of the year 2006 and will include at first two video programs designed for children. Satellite radios’ prices start at about $75.A subscription costs 12.95 per month wherever you want to subscribe as both XM and Sirius radio charges the same. There a couple of discounts like you can get satellite radio for a year at $9.95/month or Sirius is offering a subscription for a lifetime at $500.

Content
So now that we know how good the technological side of satellite radio really is, let’s have a  look at how broadcasters are trying to improve the quality of the content they provide. One of the most interesting approaches was to fight for obtaining exclusivity over some transmissions. For example, negotiations have been carried out between XM Radio and MLB in order for the satellite radio provider to obtain exclusivity rights to broadcast all MLB games. In an interview to WSJ, Edison Media Research’s President Larry Rosin declared that “it is probably inevitable that baseball radio broadcasts will go to a 100% subscription model… It will happen because there’s too much money in it not to do it.” Today, around 23%  of XM subscribers are signed up to receive the MLB transmissions, so there is real potential in such a venture. Of course, this would be a terrific blow against terrestrial radio and the two sides are engaged in combat while you are reading this. Of course, content quality can also be increased by having the best people in the industry work with satellite radio. Both Sirius and XM Radio know that someone who pays $300 for a receiver and $10 – $12 each month for a radio service wants to get the best content out there. Surprisingly, when it comes to music channels, the difference in content quality between satellite radio and terrestrial radio is made in one main topic – commercials (or rather, lack of commercials on satellite radio). Since most of XM Radio and Sirius channels are in-house productions and only a small percentage are retransmits of terrestrial radio, this becomes an interesting aspect to consider.

Q: What about disadvantages?
A: Unfortunately, Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. Territories can’t receive the satellite radio’s signals.
There are no local stations, but you will have local traffic and weather channels provided by XM and Sirius.

Q: What does provide XM and Sirius radio?
A: There a few differences between them. For example, the XM provides more that 150 channels and the other one more than 120 channels. The first has two Nascar racing channels, Major League Baseball, PGA TOUR coverage, plus ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-10 football and basketball coverage and the Sirius has Live NFL, NHL, and NBA play-by-play, plus English Premier League soccer and college sports game. But they have the same price $12.95/Month

Q: How do I install satellite radio?
A: There are a few things that are necessary to get satellite radio.
First you need a satellite radio antenna that picks up the signal from communicational satellites and then delivering it to you.
Then you need a satellite radio tuner that passes the signal from the radio antenna to the receiver. There are three basic types of radio turners. There are the Plug-and-play satellite radio tuners that can be used in the car or at home or with a portable boombox wherever you have satellite signal and they only need one subscription. There are three types of Satellite radio tuners for the car: universal tuners, “Satellite radio-ready” in-dash receivers and in-dash receivers with a built-in satellite radio tuner. The last basic type is the Home satellite radio tuners perfect for using them in-door.
The third item is a satellite radio receiver which helps you to select channels and categories, to view various songs or artists information.
Last but not least is a subscription to XM or Sirius radio that must be acquired in order to receive programming.

If you want to have the best quality sound in your car you can choose between these three options:
1. in-dash receiver with a built-in satellite radio tuner
2. “satellite radio-ready” receiver connected to an external satellite radio tuner
3. Plug-and-play satellite radio tuner connected to your car stereo’s auxiliary input.

Today, as Christie Hefner recently announced on the air, Playboy Satellite Radio boasts a number of over one million subscribers on the Sirius network. One of the most impressive things about this is that the Playboy Satellite Radio channel does not come as default to Sirius subscribers and they have to select it. This is why a one million opt-in number is something amazing, especially since the regular opt-in rates are much smaller than this for other types of broadcasting. In order to choose the Playboy Satellite Radio program users have to call Sirius or opt in for it on the Sirius website.

What does the success of Playboy Satellite Radio say

Well, let’s look at it this way – if Playboy, a brand name associated by 99% of the public with something visual, can now convince over a million people to tune into their programs, it seems that they have discovered a very interesting niche there. The Playboy empire was built on the visual presentations they make and converting this “almost entirely visual” brand into something that attracts radio users is amazing. Of course, the main Playboy brand elements are still present in the radio broadcasting, but ensuring that their traditional symbols stay unaltered is a much more difficult task. Many analysts believe that the initial success of Playboy Satellite Radio is more a fad than something that will last for years to come. That’s because the Playboy name has an irresistible attraction to many and a lot of conversions were made based on this power of magnetism alone. Another important factor that made Playboy Satellite Radio so popular is the fact that it was offered for free to users in the beginning. The curiosity factor and the fact that the Playboy name is something cool and modern made many users opt in to receive its transmissions. Some believe that after the initial magnetic attraction will start to wear off, the impressive one million subscriber list will gradually start to decline.

What the users think of Playboy Radio

Some of the most interesting reactions to Playboy Satellite Radio can be found today on message boards, forums and personal blogs. Many users have come up with interesting explanation to why Playboy Satellite Radio was such a huge success so far and many have predictions regarding its future. One forum user wrote that “In all honesty, if XM came out with a free optional channel I could activate online, I would do it immediately. Even if it was a home decorating channel or something. I’d just want to know it was there if I needed it.” This is an interesting view on the large subscription numbers and it might indicate that many activated Playboy Satellite Radio just because they could, not necessarily because they listen to it frequently. Another forum poster tells us about his personal experience with Playboy Satellite Radio: “I opted in out of curiosity. I was actually very surprised just how entertaining this channel really is. The morning talk show is good, but Night Calls with Christy Canyon & Ginger Lynn is awesome!” Another idea that has been spreading around the Internet is that having a song play on Playboy Satellite Radio or appearing in a talk show is the “audio equivalent” of appearing in the pages of the Playboy magazine. In other words, if you are not sexy, successful or interesting enough to appear in one of Playboy’s pictorials, articles or interview, there’s always the Playboy Radio to turn to.

MLB also has its own subscription paid online radio channel, and if the same thing happens to radio as it did to television they would definitely enjoy the situation. Since experts in the communication field consider that satellite radio is still in its infancy, the trend of moving broadcasts of such games to a subscription paid environment would take digital radio broadcasting to the next level of development. The earnings from XM Radio and MLB Radio are split between the 30 MLB teams, but they are divided equally. This means that the MLB team’s interests would be high and the economical and financial factors could speed up the process of making MLB games exclusive to satellite radio. The statistics we have today tell an interesting story: presently around 23% of XM subscribers have signed up to receive the MLB transmission, so there is a lot of potential for growth. Terrestrial radio can already start to feel the danger of loosing MLB broadcasts to satellite radio as this revenue driven model is more attractive for the MLB teams.
Implications of such a transfer
As with anything that reaches such a controversial topic, the opinions are shared among experts and the general public. Some people are convinced that this whole movement is nothing more than a bubble of soap. Baseball is mostly a TV favorite and although there is still a lot of interest in MLB radio broadcasts, most people will not feel the transfer to digital radio as a major change. Although radio was the initial growing medium for baseball, television is king today, and they say that the transfer from terrestrial radio to satellite radio is not something that will have a significant impact. Other opinions say that “MLB would loose more audience then it would gain from the exclusive fees”. Since the format of the terrestrial radio stations is more flexible it also allows them to broadcast more games than broadcast TV. The same people say that “the MLB would alienate a lot of local fans if they took baseball off AM radio”. For other people, there is another comparison to be made – that between the impact this would have on MLB and the impact it had on NFL, where a similar process has already started. The Sirius NFL broadcasts brought the company some new listeners, but the changes were not extreme and since NFL is more popular than MLB, some expect the same trend to be followed in MLBs case as well. Of course, there are voices that say this change would have a significant impact on the way baseball is perceived. Since watching a game on TV can take away a few hours, many prefer to listen to the game on radio while they are doing something else. This is especially true during summer months, when many prefer to spend time in the yard or on the porch, not inside the room in front of a TV set. Of course, comparisons between the various major sport types in the US can be made from many perspectives, but most will agree that baseball is a game that can be followed on radio. For now, al the signs point at a transfer of broadcasts from terrestrial radio towards satellite radio, but this may change depending on the response companies and MLB receive from the public.

If you are a sports fanatic you can choose from a good variety of channel dedicated to sports that are provided by XM radio. This includes college football and basketball, NASCAR and Major League Baseball. You can easily listen to the Bowl Championship Series to find out which team is going to the next level, the NCAA Division I football champion.

With a subscription from XM, you will have 38 channels of sports, news and talk channels. For example, ABC News & Talk, BBC World Service, CNBC, Court TV, C-Span, CNN, CNN Headline News, Discovery Channel, E Entertainment, two ESPN channels, Fox News, NASCAR Racing are a few talk station to which you can listen. Local weather and traffic channels are provided too and in totally, they are 22 channels.

Sound clearance depends on the subscription you have. If you have satellite radio from XM, the sound has more quality than the one from Sirius, but still you can’t say that is the same as a CD. You can say that the sound is somewhere between the sound of a CD and AM radio. Hopefully, in the years that will come, the sound quality will improve.

As this technology appeared so did a new line of hardware that can match people’s desires.
And XM has new things to offer like the Delphi XM MyFi which is a small receiver, actually the smallest in the world that can include up to five yours of XM content to which you can listen anywhere you like. Another is the Delphi SkyFi2 which has a TiVo-like 30-Minute Replay feature so, you can rewind, push the pause button or just play it forward to hear music, news or anything else you stored on the it. This equipments are also produced by Sony, Alpine, Pioneer and of course others.