[Science Report]:Satellite Radio


This is the VOA SpecialEnglish SCIENCE REPORT.

A private company has launched a satellite radio service in theUnited States. X-M Satellite Radio is offering one-hundred radiochannels, with music, news and other information. X-M is currentlyoffering its service to listeners in the cities of Dallas, Texas andSan Diego, California. It plans to begin nationwide service byNovember fifteenth.

People who want to listen to X-M Satellite Radio must pay for theservice. It will cost about ten dollars a month. X-M has been indevelopment for more than ten years. The company is based inWashington, D-C.

Listeners can choose among seventy-one different music channels.Thirty of these channels do not have commercials, paid announcementsfor products or services. There are twenty-nine other channels fornews, sports and other radio shows.

The programs are sent from the offices of X-M to twocommunications satellites in Earth orbit. The satellites are aboutthirty-five-thousand kilometers above the Earth.

Listeners need special radio equipment in their homes or cars toreceive signals from the satellites. In some cities, tall buildingsmay block the signals. So X-M has deployed hundreds of groundtransmitters to carry the broadcasts in the affected areas.

Some telephone companies oppose the ground transmitters, alsoknown as repeaters. They claim the devices could interfere withcellular wireless telephone service. Last month, the FederalCommunications Commission gave X-M a temporary permit to use thetransmitters until officials develop rules for their use.

X-M Satellite Radio has launched a one-hundred-million dollarnational campaign to tell the public about the new service. Reportssay X-M hopes to have at least fifty-thousand listeners by the endof this year.

A second satellite radio service plans to begin operating in theUnited States later this year. That company is called SiriusSatellite Radio. It also plans to offer one-hundred channels topeople willing to pay for its service.

However, some business experts are not sure either company willget large numbers of Americans to pay for radio. The expertsexpressed even less hope for the services after the terroristattacks in the United States last month caused a drop in stockprices.

This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by GeorgeGrow.

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