# Yet another "Sirius XM: The Beginning of the End?" Story



## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

http://www.thestreet.com/story/1065...html?puc=_btb_html_pla3&cm_ven=EMAIL_btb_html



> NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A long-feared, potential threat to Sirius XM Radio(SIRI Quote) has become real for many observers, prompting them to wonder whether the satellite radio company has reached the beginning of its end.


More....


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## kfcrosby (Dec 17, 2006)

:::looking into crystal ball:::

10 years out I believe we will be mostly off of terrestrial phone/data service altogether and be on satellite services with very high bandwidth connectivity. XM/Sirius if they survive, will have to evolve to keep profitable.

your idea's ??


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## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

kfcrosby said:


> :::looking into crystal ball:::
> 
> 10 years out I believe we will be mostly off of terrestrial phone/data service altogether and be on satellite services with very high bandwidth connectivity. XM/Sirius if they survive, will have to evolve to keep profitable.
> 
> your idea's ??


Try using your sat phone indoors.

No, the frequencies used for satcom need LOS. Not to mention the bandwidth required for everyone in a footprint to be able to up-link back to the bird...and the energy required, etc.

IMHO...Terrestrial wireless is here to stay.


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## kfcrosby (Dec 17, 2006)

Yep, agreed, as they exist today, but with an indoor repeater....


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## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

kfcrosby said:


> Yep, agreed, as they exist today, but with an indoor repeater....


Which will require additional spectrum (i.e. bandwidth).

So, every structure will have one of these?...and they'll be installed within 10 years?...along with a new constellation of satellites with this new tech?


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Richard King said:


> http://www.thestreet.com/story/1065...html?puc=_btb_html_pla3&cm_ven=EMAIL_btb_html
> 
> More....


So all I will need to do is get a $100/month phone plan with an unlimited internet/data package, and I can drop my $14/month Sirius/XM subscription and that will enable me to trade my current uninterrupted coast to coast coverage ANYWHERE in the country for the swiss cheese coverage map of some cellular provider???? And with that "costs more/less coverage" alternative, I also lose access to all of the exclusive content on Sirius/XM???

Sounds too good to be true... clearly this will be what kills Sirius/XM. :lol:


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## Galaxie6411 (Aug 26, 2007)

kfcrosby said:


> :::looking into crystal ball:::
> 
> 10 years out I believe we will be mostly off of terrestrial phone/data service altogether and be on satellite services with very high bandwidth connectivity. XM/Sirius if they survive, will have to evolve to keep profitable.
> 
> your idea's ??


Agreed and I believe this is partly why Sirius' debt was being fought over by 2 broadcast companies, they wanted that infrastructure, whether the actual company works out was secondary. Sirius/XM already has land based repeaters, they can be expanded upon to allow even more/better satellite coverage in the future be it for satellite radio or something no one has even developed yet.


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## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

Galaxie6411 said:


> Sirius/XM already has land based repeaters, they can be expanded upon to allow even more/better satellite coverage in the future be it for satellite radio or something no one has even developed yet.


Those are only in major markets and are low-power gap-fillers. They are not intended to allow indoor reception, but rather help within the outdoor "urban jungle" where LOS is problematic due to man-made structures.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Kansas Zephyr said:


> Those are only in major markets and are low-power gap-fillers. They are not intended to allow indoor reception, but rather help within the outdoor "urban jungle" where LOS is problematic due to man-made structures.


Regardless of their main purpose, the repeaters are not exclusively useful for outdoor reception. There are many indoor situations where satellite reception is not possible, but where the land based repeaters offer excellent reception... and where neither is possible the satellite radio programming is also streaming on the internet.

In any case, the coverage area of satellite radio is much more universal and wide-ranging than all existing cellular providers combined.... and you still can't get any unlimited cellular data plan for anywhere as cheap as a satellite radio subscription.


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## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> Regardless of their main purpose, the repeaters are *not exclusively useful for outdoor reception*.


I don't think I said, nor implied that. Just stated that their creation was for the LOS issues in the "urban jungle"...if you're lucky enough to be near one, why yes it works indoors, too.

How many markets are they even in? Any idea?


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Kansas Zephyr said:


> I don't think I said, nor implied that. Just stated that their creation was for the LOS issues in the "urban jungle"...if you're lucky enough to be near one, why yes it works indoors, too.
> 
> How many markets are they even in? Any idea?


There are hundreds of terrestrial repeaters. There are very few states that don't have at least one, and most states have anywhere from a few repeaters to dozens of them.

Here is a map of the Sirius repeaters....

http://www.dogstarradio.com/sirius_map.php

The XM system reportedly has many times more repeaters than the Sirius system due to the fact that their satellites are lower/closer to the horizon and more easily blocked.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

What!?!?!?!? No repeaters in Vero Beach!?!?!?!?


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## Joe166 (Jan 6, 2007)

Richard King said:


> What!?!?!?!? No repeaters in Vero Beach!?!?!?!?


No tall buildings to block the signal either. I have never had a problem with reception in that area with XM *or* Sirius.


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

If death comes to Sirius/XM, it will not be at the hands of Pandora. With all wireless providers imposing caps, there will be few who will want to risk overage charges so they can stream music.


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## reddice (Feb 18, 2003)

Pandora is terrible anyway. 40 hour limit and month. Annoying flash video commercials every time you change the station. Also a very repeative playlists with not many stations to choose from. No 80's or 90's station come on. Yes I know they have a pay service but if there free service is that crippled I rather go to AOL Radio or Slacker.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

cartrivision said:


> So all I will need to do is get a $100/month phone plan with an unlimited internet/data package, and I can drop my $14/month Sirius/XM subscription and that will enable me to trade my current uninterrupted coast to coast coverage ANYWHERE in the country for the swiss cheese coverage map of some cellular provider???? And with that "costs more/less coverage" alternative, I also lose access to all of the exclusive content on Sirius/XM???
> 
> Sounds too good to be true... clearly this will be what kills Sirius/XM. :lol:


What he ^ said. I get more "No SIGNAL" screens on my BlackjackII in rural Arkansas than I can count, and thats EXACTLY the areas that dont have FM stations either, and where my XM radio comes in great... XM might go bankrupt, but its not some hacked app on a cell phone thats gonna do it.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Kansas Zephyr said:


> How many markets are they even in? Any idea?


There is a XM transmitter in Little Rock, with coverage well out of town into the suburbs and farmlands. I have never had a drop out anywhere in Little Rock area...Even inside my metal warehouse at work.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

reddice said:


> Pandora is terrible anyway. 40 hour limit and month. Annoying flash video commercials every time you change the station. Also a very repeative playlists with not many stations to choose from. No 80's or 90's station come on. Yes I know they have a pay service but if there free service is that crippled I rather go to AOL Radio or Slacker.


I fired XM and got Slacker a while back. I liked it so much that I bought a Slacker "radio" for each of my three brothers for Christmas.


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## ddrumman2004 (Mar 28, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> So all I will need to do is get a $100/month phone plan with an unlimited internet/data package, and I can drop my $14/month Sirius/XM subscription and that will enable me to trade my current uninterrupted coast to coast coverage ANYWHERE in the country for the swiss cheese coverage map of some cellular provider???? And with that "costs more/less coverage" alternative, I also lose access to all of the exclusive content on Sirius/XM???
> 
> Sounds too good to be true... clearly this will be what kills Sirius/XM. :lol:


Yeah...just what I was thinking!


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

Uh-huh.

And when TV came out they said "this is the end for movies and movie theatres". Right.


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## WillieWildcat (Nov 4, 2007)

Try getting an actual 3G connection from anyone else other than Verizon. The iPhone (with AT&T) needs it and they are limiting it's bandwidth and sales as we speak. T-Mobile has a non-existent 3G network so they don't even count.

As I see it, the satellite is always going to be available and not subject to the amount of traffic being used by phones and internet.


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