Satellite radio is getting fresh beat-downs from a familiar source and a not-so-familiar one. On the familiar end is the National
Association of Broadcasters, the main trade group for old-school terrestrial radio and a frequent critic of comparatively under-regulated satellite broadcasters XM and Sirius.
The NAB’s latest complaint to the federal Communications
Commission centers on “repeaters,” essential low-range broadcast antennas used to feed satellite signals to urban and hilly areas where subscribers might have trouble getting a direct signal from a satellite. The NAB complain claims that numerous XM and Sirius repeaters are unlicensed, installed in the wrong location or operating above their authorized power levels. The FCC is likely to order XM and Sirius to fix some of the most obvious violations, possibly resulting in services interruptions for some urban subscribers.
New on the satellite scene is National Public Radio, which has a beef with the low-power FM transmitters many satellite radio receivers use to feed a signal to a car stereo. In a letter to the FCC, NPR says its tester found that up to 40 percent of FM transmitters it tested exceeded allowable power levels, meaning the signal can go beyond the vehicle using it.
Since most transmitters operate at the low end of the FM spectrum, NPR
listeners suffer the bulk of the irritation when an overpowered transmitter in a nearby vehicle knocks your station off the air with a 24-hour Howard Stern feed.
Via: Business Week
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