Satellite Radio: The New Shelter for Freedom of Speech.
... from their source. On long trips that find you passing through different cities, you might have to change radio stations every hour as the signals fade in and out. And it's not much fun scanning through static trying to find something to listen to. Nowadays a radio station that can broadcast its signal from more than 22,000 miles away and then come through on your car radio with complete clarity. We could drive from Denver, Washington, to Ohio, without ever having to change the radio station. We would never hear static interfering with our favorite music. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius have both launched such a service. XM Radio uses two Boeing HS 702 satellites, appropriately dubbed "Rock" and "Roll." The first XM satellite, "Rock," was launched on March 18, 2001, with "Roll" following on May 8. XM Radio has a third HS-702 satellite on the ground ready to be launched in case one of the two orbiting satellites fails. XM Satellite Radio has different programs such as Country music, Hits music, Christian programs (solid bibles studies), Rock music, Urban music, Jazz and Blues, Lifestyle shows, Dance and Latin music, World music, Kids radio station, News, Sports, Comedy shows, Talk and Entertainment, Traffic and Weather, Special Events and Premium Channels. XM Satellite Radio gives you the power to choose what you want to hear - wherever and whenever you want it. XM is America's #1 Satellite Radio. The Sirius system is similar to that of XM. Programs are beamed to one of the three Sirius satellites, which then transmit the signal to the ground, where your radio receiver picks up one of the channels within the signal. So far, WorldSpace has been the leader in the satellite radio industry. It put two of its three satellites, AfriStar and AsiaStar, in geostationary orbit before either of the other two companies launched one. The United States is not currently part of WorldSpace's coverage area. The company has invested in XM Radio and has an agreement with XM to share any technological developments. This is why it is less known in the United States. To sum-up, satellite radio, also called digital radio, offers uninterrupted, near CD-quality music. Car manufacturers have been installing satellite radio receivers in some models for a few years, and several models of portable satellite radio receivers are available from a variety of electronics companies. To continue with our main topic, we could now wonder if the arrival of Howard Stern on the satellite radio will be enough to launch greatly this new media on such significant market? Some think that satellite radio needs a new genre of shows that are not available on A.M and F.M waves. Stern actually understood that he could really help this new industry to take off, and make a lot of money. Other that this new freedom, satellite radio proposes two other interesting advantages. There will be almost no advertisement and there will be a large variety of stations, dedicated to different tastes and talk shows. This would be no less than 120 radio station on Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, its principal rival. The two concurrent, which are not yet having any concrete benefits, are already fighting hard to get the significant part of the shares on the market. The downside of the satellite radio is that it is not free! Even though this media can attract a lot of loyal subscribers, the host will have to convince the listeners to pay 150 dollars to buy the Sirius box and then a 12, 5 dollars monthly fee, against 9,99 dollars for XM Satell...