Satellite Radio

With clear, static-free digital signals transmitted from orbiting satellites, you’ll never again lose your favorite radio station as you travel. You can listen to a wide variety of channels, including music, news, sports, traffic and talk shows. Many car manufacturers have installed satellite radio receivers in their vehicles, and portable SiriusXM radios are available from a variety of electronics companies.

The Sirius and XM satellite systems transmit programs to radio receivers with special antennas. The receiver converts the signal to an analog audio output, which you listen to on your car’s or portable radio. The systems also use ground repeaters in urban areas to prevent interference from tall buildings or other obstructions to the signal.

In 2008 Sirius Radio bought XM Radio to form a single company called SiriusXM Radio. The new company maintained separate platforms for both previous brands, so that owners of Sirius and XM receivers can continue to receive programming.

Satellite radio was over a decade in the making. In 1992 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the “S” band for nationwide broadcasting of satellite-based digital radio. Only two companies applied to the FCC for a license to broadcast over the satellite band, and CD Radio—later Sirius Satellite Radio—bought one of the two licenses for $83.3 million. The other was American Mobile Satellite Corp., which received a discount under the FCC’s “pioneer preference” program because it developed the technology for satellite radio.