Mel - "Sirius, XM technology would take years to merge"

[GoodDog]

Sirius, XM technology would take years to merge - AutoWeek Magazine

"Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius XM Radio Inc., said Monday that unified satellite radio networks and receivers are still in the distant future."

"Merging XM and Sirius technology and installing it in new vehicles could take as long as 15 years because of the new chips required and automakers’ lead time"


15 years?

 

[edalen]

I would think they could merge some of the technology in the meantime, for some of the receivers/customers, but maybe Mel was talking about backward compatibility. It would be tough to merge the tech if there are still 10, 15, 20 million old receivers out there.

 

[Manco]

The short term solution is to have dual tuner radios, ones that can get either satellite by a press of a button. But what he is talking about makes sense, you would essentially have to wait for satellites to go end of life etc. before it would make any sense to try and do a switch to a satellite that can broadcast both services. The backward compatibility issue is a big problem that never really goes away without some disruption.

 

[Davis]

They are planning on putting out dual-tuner radios right?

 

[Wolf]

I have heard about these 15 years to merge, but that was mainly the satellites like Manco said.

They are planning on putting out dual-tuner radios right?

Some time next year these interoperable radios will be coming out.

 

[GoodDog]

The short term solution is to have dual tuner radios, ones that can get either satellite by a press of a button. But what he is talking about makes sense, you would essentially have to wait for satellites to go end of life etc. before it would make any sense to try and do a switch to a satellite that can broadcast both services. The backward compatibility issue is a big problem that never really goes away without some disruption.

He wasn't addressing sats in this quote, he is addressing radios.

"Merging XM and Sirius technology and installing it in new vehicles could take as long as 15 years because of the new chips required and automakers’ lead time"

Dual tuner radios (think am/fm) cannot be that hard to deploy. dual tuner radios would "merge" the services on the customer facing side of the business. They can address the backend as they see fit.

 

[edalen]

And no doubt, those dual-tuner radios will be more expensive which would make Sirius XM less eager to push them since the OEM market is somewhat subsidized and the retail market is struggling.

 

[MikeV]

Dual tuner radios are one thing... that's the easy way out to provide both services in one slightly larger receiver.

What he's likely referring to is the grand, master plan to bring everything into one platform. One broadcast operations center, one channel lineup, receivers with one tuner that receives all 25MHz of SDARS spectrum, and one set of satellites/repeaters delivering everything. And then that all has to be done 3 years before you'll see that new receiver hardware in new cars.

Dual-tuner radios are a start, and if they're software-updatable, they might even be able to be reconfigured to support the end result of the master plan as well.

To get to this point with some level of fiscal responsibility, not to mention the pre-merger "promises" that XM and Sirius made to their customers about existing receivers continuing to function for 8-10 years post-merger, plus the 3-year OEM cycle, that puts us 11-13 years in the future at the earliest.

 

[Manco]

He wasn't addressing sats in this quote, he is addressing radios.

He mentioned merging "networks" That is much more than being about radios.

I believe there is a requirement to have dual tuner radios as part of the merger agreement isn't there? They may not make it to the OEM car market, but aftermarket there are no obstacles.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

What they should be thinking about in the short to medium term (within the next 2-3 years) is phasing out new standalone radios for the platform they are not going to support 15 years hense. Obviously all OEM should be switched to that format as quickly as possible. If you can't buy a Sirius radio (for example) and only an XM one in 10 years you have a majority of your subs with the platform you have chosen.

When the time comes for mothballing one of the platforms, you replace whatever radios remain outstanding on the other and move forward.

 

[GoodDog]

Speaking in generalities Sirius occupies a frequency band of a –g and XM occupies a frequency band of o – z. SiriusXM is not going to give up operating any of that freq space so dual band radios are the way to go ASAP. . I don’t think that dual band radios are too expensive to make. Both services will use the same common elements of the radio (display, fm transmitter, buttons, power supply, etc). I also think that they commissioned work on a dual band next generation chip set during the FCC delay and should be nearer to completion then not. I agree with Idratherbeskiing that they should phase out the current stand alone radios as soon as the new radio circuit design is available and move forward. As I said earlier, they should settle the customer facing issues ASAP and work the back of the office stuff (studios, trans facilities, backhaul, ops) behind the scenes and away from public eyes. Why telegraph to potential customers that the services is in an unsteady state.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Speaking in generalities Sirius occupies a frequency band of a –g and XM occupies a frequency band of o – z. SiriusXM is not going to give up operating any of that freq space so dual band radios are the way to go ASAP. . I don’t think that dual band radios are too expensive to make. Both services will use the same common elements of the radio (display, fm transmitter, buttons, power supply, etc). I also think that they commissioned work on a dual band next generation chip set during the FCC delay and should be nearer to completion then not. I agree with Idratherbeskiing that they should phase out the current stand alone radios as soon as the new radio circuit design is available and move forward. As I said earlier, they should settle the customer facing issues ASAP and work the back of the office stuff (studios, trans facilities, backhaul, ops) behind the scenes and away from public eyes. Why telegraph to potential customers that the services is in an unsteady state.

As long as they are pumping out both spectrums in propietry format, they are restricted. The minute you get one techology or the other as unique it can use the full a-z of the spectrum without duplications. You could truly get 2ce as much as you do today.

 

[GoodDog]

As long as they are pumping out both spectrums in propietry format, they are restricted. The minute you get one techology or the other as unique it can use the full a-z of the spectrum without duplications. You could truly get 2ce as much as you do today.

Duplication of channels will be with us until most have next gen radios. I hope we don't have to wait 15 years for that to happen.

 

[Music_Rube]

I also think that dual-band radios are the way to go right now. With the merged channel lineup coming in November, I feel it only makes sense to develop and market these as soon as possible. These radios would make great Christmas gifts!

With Sirius and XM operating as one company now, I just don't see why they are continuing to develop and market single-band radios, such as the XMp3.

 

[electricpotato]

These guys better get their act together.
I had been vehemently opposed to the merger until I realized that it was inevitable.
One of the bright spots in this merger is the promise (whether stated or implied) of access to ALL content from both services.
Articles like this:
Satellite Radio: Sirius XM Dual Receiver Still 15 Years Away

Don't do Sirius/XM much good when they're predicting the demise of sat radio within 2 years. And with the stock market the way it is now, SiriusXM is in a whole heap of trouble. Probably more now than they were pre-merger.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

IWith Sirius and XM operating as one company now, I just don't see why they are continuing to develop and market single-band radios, such as the XMp3.

This was developed pre-merger. No point throwing away the R&D on it just because its not dual band.

 

[DAB]

I don't think they will worry about going to a system that can broadcast both services. I think the idea would be to put out the intagrated radios and once the sats life span is reached or sooner, then you'll have the ability to switch to one system or the other. In many ways the XM system is superior. But since SIRIUS has invested in backseat video, they may want to keep that side. I don't see them continuing to support both systems forever. I think at some point they will move to one system and combine the full bandwidth to it. Once the market is flooded with these new intagrated tuners switching over to one system or the other would not be an issue.