White Papers & Studies

Does the Lack of Inter-operable Radios Mean Less Competition and Monopoly Power?

February 13, 2008

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Recently, as it relates to arguments that apparently support the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio (Sirius) and XM Satellite Radio (XM), a strange message has entered the public forum: because Sirius and XM never met their obligation to develop radio receivers that could receive both services (i.e., the so-called inter-operable satellite radios), there is inadequate competition between Sirius and XM to support the government’s antitrust opposition. This non-sequitur attempts to further break the universe of current subscribers and would-be subscribers into two distinct and separate bodies of satellite radio subscribers. Acknowledging that strong competition exists between Sirius and XM for new (i.e. would-be) subscribers, this odd argument instead focuses on current satellite radio subscribers.