Satellite TV Systems
How does satellite radio work?
Satellite radio is one of the biggest improvements in
broadcasting since the introduction of FM. Satellite radio
signal can be broadcasted for more than 35,000 kilometers
(22,000 miles) with complete clarity and high quality sound. You
will never get static interferences while listening to over 100
radio channels. The idea behind satellite radio has appeared in
1992, when the United States Federal Communications Commission
granted a spectrum of the S band (the 2.3 GHz frequency) for
Digital Audio Radio Service. The license to broadcast in that
band was allocated to Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite
Radio in 1997. Now there are three companies that provide
satellite radio in the world: Sirius and XM in Northern America
and WorldSpace in Asia, Europe and Africa.
Each of these companies offer different broadcasting systems,
since the radio signal of each is proprietary. This means that
you will have to buy different hardware depending on your
subscription to one of these companies. However, there are three
components common to all satellite radio services: the
satellites, the ground repeaters and the radio receivers.
Different satellite radio companies broadcast the radio signal
in different ways. For instance, XM satellite radio uses
geostationary satellites which have orbits that are synchronized
with the movement of Earth. These satellites are located above
the equator. In order to allow subscribers to receive
crystal-clear signal despite obstacles such as buildings, hills
or bridges, XM satellite radio service has installed a network
of repeaters antennas that receive the radio signal from the
satellites and retransmit it to the subscriber’s receiver
Sirius, on the other hand, uses satellites that have unique
elliptical orbits around Earth. Learn more by visiting
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and discover the real secrets of satellite radio. These kinds of
orbits allow satellites to get higher in the sky than
geostationary satellites and this prevents loss of signal. This
is the reason why Sirius has fewer terrestrial repeaters than
XM.
Satellite radio services have digital broadcast centers where a
huge amount of music in digital format as well as CD format is
stored. Radio programmers have the task of selecting which song
has to be played at which time. There are also a lot of studios
managed by digital radio companies where artists perform live.
All songs and material are transmitted to the satellites in
digital format so that the signal contains very high quality
sound. The signal is encoded by the satellite and then
retransmitted to the repeaters antennas, which then transmit it
to the radio receiver which decodes it and plays the sound. The
entire process is very quick and reliable. Satellite radio would
not be possible without digital compression. Digital compression
is a technique that uses sophisticated algorithms to compress as
much material as possible on the available bandwidth. Once you
make a subscription to a satellite radio provider you will need
the appropriate radio equipment. Traditional radios cannot
decode the signal received from satellites so you will need
special equipment.
The popularity of satellite radio has exploded due to many
technological advancements that enabled manufacturers to offer
the receivers at very attractive prices. The fact that satellite
radio is commercial free for many of its channels is also a
major selling point.
The Basics of Satellite Radio
Broadcasting digital radio via satellite is not something new
and concepts of doings this have been with us for a few years.
From the early days of satellite radio, companies like Dish
Network have offered digital audio channels as part of their
programs. The breakthrough in popularity of satellite radio,
however, happened just recently, when the technology became more
permissive. Satellite radio was very rare on moving locations,
such as boats or cars, mostly because there was the need for
some expensive equipment – a tracking dish. This was a strong
deterrent which kept satellite radio quite unknown by the
general public. Today, however, one can receive digital audio
satellite broadcasts by using a small, GPS-like antenna. This
greatly increased the feasibility of the satellite radio systems
and more and more vehicle owners began considering satellite
radios as a good source of music and news.
The birth of satellite radio in the United States
When the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated
a spectrum in the "S" band (2.3 GHz) for the broadcasting of
digital radio services in 1992 no one thought the amplitude that
the system would take in the future. From the initial Digital
Audio Radio Service (DARS) things progressed until two companies
were given licenses to broadcast digital radio in 1997. These
two were American Mobile Radio (today known as XM Satellite
Radio) and CD Radio (presently called Sirius Satellite Radio).
The fact that satellite radio is nationwide makes it a very
attractive media channel, both for commercial and non-profit
organizations. The two companies that initiated the development
of satellite radio saw the huge potential it had, since it
wasn’t confined by the limitations of other terrestrial
broadcasters.
Benefits of using satellite radio
Here are some of the most noteworthy benefits of having a
satellite radio system:
* No more geographical limitations – since the radio program is
broadcast through a satellite you don’t have to switch radio
stations every time you leave a certain coverage area.
* The digital quality of the satellite radio has some amazing
benefits on its own. There are no noise disturbances that were
traditional to FM and AM broadcasts. The transmission is crystal
clear and satellite radio receives some valuable points when
broadcasting quality is concerned.
* Analog radio stations simply cannot broadcast the full range
of sounds available through digital satellite radio.
* Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio can be picked up on all the US
territory and they are also available in some parts of Canada
and Mexico.
Satellite radio technology
Each of the major satellite radio services uses its own
equipment to broadcast the signal to their clients. The
competition is tight and customers have to “pick sides” in order
to benefit from satellite radio broadcasting. You have to choose
your preferred company and purchase adequate receivers for that
particular company. Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio provide their
clients with different ways of receiving their services. The
field where most competition takes place is in the negotiation
with the major automobile manufacturers. Both XM Radio and
Sirius Radio have deals with the auto industry giants in order
to offer their services and equipment as optional on the car
models they produce. Other partnerships were created with audio
equipment manufacturers, who now offer satellite radio
transceivers and matching headsets. Learn how to
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The future development of satellite radio
One of the main problems of satellite radio was addressed by the
main satellite radio broadcasters. Since you need to be in the
line of sight of the satellite to receive the transmission,
different problems appeared with mobile satellite radio
receivers, especially when different landscaping objects blocked
the direct transmission. To solve this, land based devices were
installed in order to eliminate the lack of direct satellite
transmission. Another interesting aspect related to satellite
radios is that they approached their service offers from a
different perspective than traditional radio broadcasters.
Instead of airing commercials they charge a subscription fee.
For many people, this is actually the best alternative, since
they get an almost 100% content broadcast (whether it’s music or
talk shows) without the 10-12 minutes per hour of annoying
commercials. In most cases, the monthly subscription for
satellite radio is of around $12.
The Success Of Satellite Radio
The entertainment industry is one of the most dynamic and
attractive ones, and satellite radio has recently captured a
large share of it. Audio entertainment products are highly
popular today and there is a wide variety of choices when it
comes to having good music in your car: regular CD players, car
CD players with storage space or MP3 players. When it comes to
radio however, there is an even bigger divide – you can listen
to or go with one of the new satellite radio offers. The
popularity of satellite radio broadcasting has gone sky-high in
the past years mostly because it has some exciting benefits that
commercial FM/AM programming simply cannot offer. Analog radio
stations are not able to broadcast the full range of sounds
available through digital satellite radio and this has a
noticeable impact on sound quality. Digital radio programs are
broadcast through a satellite – this means that users don’t have
to switch radio stations every time they get out of a certain
geographical area, as the signal is countrywide. Traditional to
FM and AM broadcasts have different forms of noise disturbances
– satellite radio eliminates this problem as the quality is very
close to that of the original tracks it is playing.
Technology and content
Because satellite radio uses such high tech instruments
(satellites, small portable receivers) many still perceive it as
unapproachable and prefer to stick with traditional radio. Most
young people, however, can’t wait to get their hands on the
latest in technological advancements, so satellite radio is
perfect for this age group. The price you had to pay for
satellite radio one or two years ago was a bit high for many who
decide to enjoy traditional, commercial radio stations instead,
as they are free. Today however, for a subscription of around
$12 per month, you can receive dozens of excellent news, sports
and music radio channels. And the best thing is that they are
commercial free. In many ways, satellite radio became popular
following the idea of DirecTV's success – the difference was
made through superior broadcast quality, excellent geographical
coverage and content. This is in fact the main issue satellite
radio broadcasters and terrestrial radio stations are looking at
– high quality content is actually the most flexible field where
subscribers or listeners can be won or lost. In order to get
valuable radio content, many satellite radio offers were made to
popular media topics. Learn more by visiting
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for example, might be broadcast exclusively on satellite radio
stations. Although this is still an assumption, chances are that
more and more popular US topics will be exclusively available on
different satellite radio programs, whether they are from
Sirius, XM Radio or from some new broadcasters that will join
the market.
It all comes down to what the consumer wants
And it’s true – it does come to that. Some laughed at the idea
of paying for radio – for as long as we have known, radio
programs were free. However, the satellite radio industry only
followed in the footsteps of cable TV – although all Americans
can receive free programs with UHF and VHF antennas, over 80%
are willing to pay monthly subscription fees. With $9.95/month
for XM and $12.95/month for Sirius, accessibility to satellite
radio broadcasts is high and anyone can afford to subscribe. And
the truth is that satellite radios have proved, once again, that
sometimes a consumer is ready to pay for something they used to
get for free as long as the commercials are eliminated. In many
cases, out of an hour of radio broadcasting, around 12-15
minutes are commercials – people don’t want such interruptions
in their radio programs. Both Sirius and XM Radio knew this when
they launched their paid subscription services and they were
right, as each company has millions of subscribers today. The
satellite radio craze got even larger when it met the auto
manufacturing industry – today almost all major manufacturers
offer satellite radio receivers as standard or optional with
each of their models. |
