Satellite Radio

a n n g r e g o r y

Remember when cable television didn't exist? Me neither. Developers and marketers of satellite radio hope that this technology will have a similar effect on the radio industry as cable (and satellite) did in the television industry. Promoted as a revolutionary force to antiquate our simple notions of geographically dependent FM and AM radio, satellite radio offers 100 stations that can be accessed constantly throughout the continental US.

Oh yeah, there's a price too. A satellite radio receiver runs from $300 to $600 and the services have a monthly fee ranging from $10 to $13. Not to worry, car manufacturers have already tapped into this market and signed contracts with satellite companies to install receivers in cars increasingly over the next five years. The big electronic names such as Pioneer and Sony are selling the receivers; CNN, ESPN, BBC, and NPR have all chosen which satellite providers from which to run their shows. All that's left for the success of the satellite radio is mass consumption thereof. You may scoff incredulously at the thought of paying for radio service, but that's probably what our ancestors thought when cable TV came about.

The two major providers thus far, XM and Sirius, advertise virtually commercial-free, digital quality stations encompassing various talk and music genres. Somehow the companies have rigged up satellites in space (XM's satellites, incidentally, are named "Rock" and "Roll") that transmit your favorite funky jams from all the way up in space into your very own satellite radio receiver. Lots of stuff happens in between, but who cares as long as you can drive from San Francisco to New York without having to change the station?