Satellite radio provides a clean digital signal that rivals CD-quality and allows you to listen to dozens of channels without commercial interruptions. It also transmits text information like stock quotes and sports scores along with musical signals, offering a variety of entertainment options. You’ll find Sirius and XM radios in most luxury cars, and many non-luxury car manufacturers offer them as a factory option alongside other high-end car accessories. All require a proprietary receiver that decodes the satellite’s encrypted signals, and most come with an annual subscription fee.
The sole provider of satellite radio in the United States, SiriusXM, offers over 170 channels including uncensored album cuts from top artists and exclusive programs from talk show maven Howard Stern, among other hosts. Both services have a wider range of coverage than terrestrial radio, with one or more satellites covering the entire continent at all times.
Each company’s system is slightly different, but all three components are essential to the service: satellites, ground repeaters and receivers. Each satellite has one or more beams that broadcast a signal to receivers on the ground, which then provide CD-quality audio. The signal may be transmitted from the satellite, or it may be boosted by satellite repeaters near tall buildings in urban areas to overcome interference.
The first satellite radio service launched in 1992 when the Federal Communications Commission granted licenses to two companies, CD Radio (later Sirius Satellite Radio) and American Mobile Satellite Corp. Both firms paid more than $80 million at an FCC auction to use a portion of the satellite-based digital audio radio spectrum for nationwide transmissions.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.