Listening to the radio while driving is inextricably linked to many of us. It’s part of the experience, whether you’re cruising down a boulevard in your convertible with the top down or commuting to work in your vehicle. But until recently, doing so had some frustrating pitfalls – it could be difficult to find stations with good signal strength or the station would suddenly fade in and out during your favorite song.
Satellite radio was developed to address these problems. The technology broadcasts digital audio signals from a satellite to receivers on Earth. These signals include information such as the artist, title and genre of a song. The radio receivers unscramble these signals and send them to your vehicle’s radio, allowing you to hear the music with great clarity and without interruption.
The two main satellite radio providers in the United States are Sirius and XM, which merged in 2008. They offer a subscription service that provides commercial-free programming. In addition to music channels, they also have sports, news, talk and entertainment stations.
Unlike terrestrial AM and FM radio, satellite broadcasts are high-definition. This allows the listener to hear more of a song’s vocal range and a clearer sound overall. It also allows for a more robust signal, which can travel over long distances.
As with all satellite communications, maintaining a line of sight between the satellite and the receiver is important. This can be challenged when vehicles go under bridges, drive through tunnels or enter parking garages. Sirius uses multiple satellites in orbit and tries to ensure that a satellite is always visible. If not, the radio receiver can switch to another satellite that still has a solid connection with Earth.
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