A satellite radio is a service that broadcasts digital audio signals over long distances with greater clarity and consistency than traditional terrestrial, or AM/FM, stations. Broadcasters transmit their programming to satellites that orbit Earth, and the satellites bounce the signals back down to specialized receivers that are installed in cars, home stereo systems and portable boomboxes. Satellite radio services typically offer a dozen or more channels of music, news, talk and sports that are commercial-free.
Aside from the improved sound quality—which approaches CD-quality—a key advantage of satellite radio is the ability to transmit text messages like stock quotes and sports scores alongside musical signals. In addition, satellite radio can provide coast-to-coast coverage, whereas conventional terrestrial broadcasts may fade out as they travel across tall buildings or over large geographic areas.
The first two satellite radio networks to launch in the United States, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, battled for subscriber dollars by securing deals with major carmakers to install their receivers in new vehicles. In the early days of XM and Sirius, Briskman remembers that one of the most challenging aspects of design was developing an in-car user interface, a task exacerbated by the fact that each automaker had its own notion of how satellite radio should work.
When Briskman started at 1worldspace, the company had just launched its second satellite, AsiaStar, which was designed to carry three signal beams that cover 5.4 million square miles (14.2 million square kilometers) of the world. Each of these beams contains more than 60 channels of programming, including a number of music channels and sports content, such as NFL and CFL games and full NBA coverage with shows such as Full Court Press and hosted by former star player Steve Smith.
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