satellites

New bill calls for HD-compatible satellite radio

Legislators over the weekend introduced new legislation requiring satellite radio receivers to pick up digital signals, even though federal regulators are still seeking public comment on the issue.

House Representative Ed Markey, D-Mass., on Saturday introduced the Radio All Digital Channel Receiver Act, which requires equipment designed to receive both satellite digital audio radio and terrestrial AM/FM radio to be equipped to receive digital radio signals transmitted by terrestrial AM/FM stations.

"Millions of Americans today rely on local broadcast radio for news, public safety bulletins, sports, weather, traffic, and other information," Markey said in a press release. &… Read more

AT&T drops Dish for DirecTV

AT&T is switching its satellite TV provider.

The telecommunications giant announced Friday that it will drop Dish Network and replace it with DirecTV, after January 31. AT&T has had a joint marketing deal with Dish since 2003.

Financial details of the new deal were not released.

AT&T had announced in early summer that it would not renew its current deal with Dish. It was not clear at the time, however, whether it would renegotiate its agreement with Dish or switch to DirecTV, the other primary satellite TV provider in the U.S.

Telecoms have … Read more

CRUTCHFIELD has the SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable satellite radio for $249.99, after $30 savings and $50 mail-in rebate, plus free shipping.

CRUTCHFIELD has SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable satellite radio for $249.99, after $30 savings and $50 mail-in rebate, plus free shipping. >> Regular price is $329.99 >> Sale price is $249.99 >> Savings $80 (24.24%) >> Click here for deal

Google-focused satellite enters orbit

The GeoEye-1 satellite that launched into orbit Saturday is on a mission from Google.

Well, not just Google. The GeoEye-1 is part of the NextView program of the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a dot-mil organization that, odd as it may seem, wants access to commercial satellite imagery to support its national security mission. GeoEye, the company, won its $500 million NextView contract four years ago.

But the search titan does have the exclusive rights among online mapping sites to the GeoEye-1 images, which it will use in its Google Earth and Google Maps offerings. It even got its corporate … Read more

Google to buy GeoEye satellite imagery

Google has signed a deal under which GeoEye will supply the search giant with imagery from a satellite due to launch in coming days, the companies said.

Under the deal, Google is the exclusive online mapping site that may use the imagery, said Mark Brender, vice president of corporate communications and marketing. Google uses satellite imagery in its Google Maps and Google Earth product.

And as a little icing on the cake, Google's logo is on the side of the rocket set to launch the 4,300-pound satellite in six days from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Terms … Read more

Google Earth shows cows point north

My grandparents in England had cows on their farm so I've always had a lot of affection for them, and was delighted to read this story from the Los Angeles Times indicating a "hidden cow power." Turns out cows may have internal compasses much like birds and bees do for orienting themselves to magnetic north.

Using satellite images on Google Earth, German scientists were able to see that all over the planet, cows stand with their bodies pointing to magnetic north.

Studying photographs of 8,510 cattle in 308 herds from around the world, zoologists Sabine Begall … Read more

Sirius cuts losses before XM merger

Sirius XM Radio on Thursday announced that its Sirius side posted a 25 percent jump in second-quarter revenue and pared back its net loss as it closed its final quarter as a standalone company.

Revenues for Sirius Satellite Radio, which closed its long-awaited merger with XM Satellite Radio after the quarter ended, rose to $283 million for the three-month period ending June 30, up from $226.4 million a year earlier.

"Despite a tough economy and weak auto sales, gross additions set a new second-quarter record. In the second quarter, both revenue and subscribers grew 25 percent, compared with … Read more

Sirius and XM close merger

Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio announced on Tuesday that they closed their long-awaited merger, ending a 17-month saga since the deal was first announced to bring the nation's only two satellite radio companies together.

The combined company, with more than 18.5 million subscribers, is now called Sirius XM Radio. It is set to rank as the second-largest U.S. radio company, based on annual revenues.

Sirius XM Radio will offer more than 300 programming channels spanning exclusive shows, such as those of Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, and a la carte programming. Subscribers will be able … Read more

Why the FCC's treatment of the XM-Sirius merger is an abomination

After a process that took more than a year and officially set the record for the most ridiculous merger mulling in the history of the United States, the FCC finally approved the XM-Sirius merger by a 3-2 vote down party lines.

And although its treatment of this deal was bad enough over the past year and a half, the final outcome is even worse. It not only solidifies my belief that NAB has the ear of the FCC, but that both organizations are extremely concerned that satellite radio will finally become a major force in radio.

According to reports, "the companies agreed to a three-year cap on prices, set aside 8 percent of their channel capacity for minority and noncommercial programming, and agreed to pay $19.7 million for past FCC rule violations. The companies also agreed to bring interoperable radios to the market within a year."

On top of that, the FCC will embark on a new initiative to explore the possibility of including HD radio functionality into the XM and Sirius radios. That said, it didn't go so far as to make it a requirement just yet.

And while some believe that this deal is a major blow to terrestrial radio, I think that argument is hogwash. The reality of the situation is that XM and Sirius were led around by the nose while the FCC and companies like Clear Channel did everything they could to weaken the two firms.… Read more

Sirius-XM merger: No static at all

Updated at 4:45 p.m. PDT to clarify that portable receivers are capable of receiving live program signals.

The marriage of satellite radio providers Sirius and XM has finally received the blessing of the Federal Communications Commission on Friday. Now we can all finally get the game we want.

For many prospective customers, a key sticking point was the different selections of sports programming offered exclusively by each provider. A few years back, I wanted to make a present of a Sirius subscription to a friend who spends a lot of time driving around Northern California, especially in places … Read more