What is Sirius?

Photo courtesy Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

Sirius was founded in 1990, and was the first satellite radio service to get an FCC license in 1997. But because of technical problems with its satellites, its first broadcast wasn't until July 2002, nearly a year behind XM. Since then, it has lagged behind its competitor in subscribers.

Sirius broadcasts satellite radio from three satellites, which were launched in 2000 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The satellites typically fly in geosynchronous orbit, between 15,200 and 29,280 miles above the earth's surface.

The three solar-powered satellites follow one after the other, so when one passes out of the Northern Hemisphere, for example, another is right behind it to provide uninterrupted transmission. Two ground stations, one in Ecuador and another in Panama, are in constant contact with the satellites.

Photo courtesy Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. Top to bottom: Antex SRX-3 TriplePlay multi-zone, multi-room audio system, Kenwood XDC-X859 CD/MP3 receiver, Sportster Boombox

Sirius comes in three formats: car receivers that either work with your car's existing radio or replace it (ranging from $150 to $2,300), home receivers that either work with your home stereo or in addition to it (ranging from $250 to $2,000), and plug-and-play receivers that can go from the car to the home and also act as standalone, portable radios (ranging from $50 to $160).

The Shock Jock Comes to Satellite With his never ending parade of strippers, porn stars and willing female fans, shock jock Howard Stern has often been the target of the Federal Communications Commission (see How does the FCC police obscenity?). In 2004, Clear Channel Communications dumped his show over alleged indecency violations. Late that year, Stern announced that he was going to be moving to Sirius, where he was reportedly offered a five-year, $100 million contract. Whereas traditional radio falls under the watchful eye of the FCC, satellite radio has no such restrictions. Like HBO and other pay cable networks, it can air virtually anything, including obscenity, giving Stern virtually free reign in his new home. But whether lawmakers will vote to regulate satellite radio in the future is still unknown.