XM radio provides alternative to AM, FM

By Joshua Bacon

Imagine driving through the mountains while listening to your favorite song and never having to deal with annoying static as the radio frequency begins to fade.

Imagine being able to hear a song on the radio in California while someone on another continent listens to the same song.

Imagine zero commercials and non-stop music.

These features are no longer confined to the imagination because of satellite radio, which offers more than 100 channels for a monthly fee and initial set-up cost.

Although there are three satellite radio providers, only two of them offer service in the United States. XM and Sirius beam their signals to listeners across the United States, while WorldSpace provides satellite radio to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe.

Both United States companies have similar histories in the satellite radio business. XM and Sirius were given licenses to broadcast through satellite in 1997. XM launched its service nationwide in November 2001, while Sirius launched in July 2002.

Although the services are similar, both offer features that make them distinct and more suitable to certain individuals.

XM costs $9.99 per month, offers 68 channels of commercial-free music, has more than 120 channels and has 20 different types of programming.

Programs include decades, which offers music from the 1940s up through the ’90s, comedy channels that offer short segments of stand-up and world music that includes sounds from Jamaica and Africa.

Sirius costs $12.95 per month, offers 65 commercial-free music channels, more than 120 channels and more than 10 different types of programming.

Programming includes pop, which offers love songs, 1950s to ’90s music, Elvis radio and kids music. Rock channels offer indie rock, underground garage, new rock and college.

The major difference between the two providers is their talk and entertainment programming. Sirius offers 22 entertainment channels, while XM has 12.

Sirius’ unique programs include Court TV and Our Time Radio, which provides non-stop talk for women. XM’s unique programs include MTV and VH1 radio.

Not everything about satellite radio is an improvement, though. With the service, listeners don’t receive local radio stations, which means they must still deal with bad transmissions and will still eventually lose local stations completely once out of the area.

Receivers that cost more than $100 usually have everything needed to use satellite radio, but units that are less than $100 usually also need car or home kits, which start at about $30.

There are other accessories available such as boom boxes that let users take satellite radio anywhere with them, with the cost in the $100 range.

Satellite radio doesn’t offer any new ways to listen to music since both satellite and regular radio can be heard while in a vehicle, in the home or virtually anywhere.

What it gives is a variety of stations dedicated to special issues giving listeners a wide range of choices that aren’t found on regular radio frequencies. It is much like cable television in this respect, since customers are paying a fee for specialized stations that are not available on free radio.

The aspect that separates satellite radio from cable is the dozens of commercial-free stations that both companies offer. Commercial-free anything is nice, especially on those long trips home or on vacation when all the entertainment you have in the car is a radio.

It comes down to having the extra $10 to $12 per month and wanting an alternative to the 40 or 50 minutes of music with intermittent commercials. The startup cost is practically the same as buying a new stereo, but if you don’t mind sitting through a couple of commercials every hour and are just interested in mainstream music and talk shows, FM and AM radio are for you.