XM Radio & Sirius Radio

[alohaboat]

I have Sirius radio aboard my boat in Mexico. Works perfectly. It works offshore as well as all the way down to Panama. I much prefer Sirius to XM. It has programming for every taste from NPR (not on XM) to Faux News and Classical to Buffet (not on XM). I am hooked on Court TV via radio (not on XM) but I don't listen to Stern (yawn). I don't have a problem with $10 usd I pay per month for 24 hr. interference free radio. I would like to see Sirius add IRH (Internet Radio Hawaii) to their programming and I would be in heaven!

You will need an FM tuner aboard for either XM or Sirius. A simple portable radio will do, but remember the audio will come through the FM speaker so if you are an audiophile you may want to get a nice FM receiver. I use an inexpensive car AM/FM tuner/CD with nice speakers built into the overhead.

[windthief]

February 19, 2007

To: SIRIUS Subscribers

Today is a very exciting day for SIRIUS customers. As you may have
heard, SIRIUS Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio are merging to form
the nation's premier audio entertainment provider.

This combination of our two offerings will benefit you - our loyal
listeners. As a single company, we'll provide superior programming to you
every day with the best of both SIRIUS and XM. Currently, XM and
SIRIUS broadcast a wide range of commercial-free music channels, exclusive
sports coverage, news, talk, and entertainment programming. Howard
Stern. Oprah and Friends. The NFL. MLB. NBA. ESPN. CNBC. Fox News.
Additionally, the combined company will be able to improve existing
services such as real-time traffic information and rear-seat video as well
as introduce new ones.

After shareholder and regulatory approvals, we anticipate that the
combination will be finalized by the end of 2007. Until then, both
companies will continue to operate independently. We will continue to provide
you with the uninterrupted service - as well as the outstanding
customer support - that you have come to expect and enjoy from SIRIUS. We do
not anticipate any changes in your service during the merger process,
however, please call our customer care team on 1- 888-539-7474 should you
have any questions.

We look forward to the many benefits this combination will offer and
continuing to make your listening experience an enjoyable one - offering
more of the Very Best Radio on Radio.

Stay tuned,

Mel Karmazin, CEO






Forward Looking Statements
This letter contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the
business combination transaction involving Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.
and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., including potential synergies and
cost savings and the timing thereof, future financial and operating
results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and
intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and
other statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," or words of
similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the
current beliefs and expectations of SIRIUS' and XM's management and are
inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict
and generally beyond the control of SIRIUS and XM. Actual results may
differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking
statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to
differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations
expressed in the forward-looking statement: general business and economic
conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the
ability to obtain governmental approvals of the transaction on a timely
basis; the failure of SIRIUS and XM shareholders to approve the
transaction; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the
transaction or delay in realization thereof; the businesses of SIRIUS and XM
may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer,
be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than
expected; and operating costs and business disruption following the merger,
including adverse effects on employee retention and on our business
relationships with third parties, including manufacturers of radios,
retailers, automakers and programming providers. Additional factors that could
cause SIRIUS' and XM's results to differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements can be found in SIRIUS' and XM's
Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2006, June
30, 2006 and September 30, 2006 which are filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet
site http://www.sec.gov The information set forth herein speaks only as
of the date hereof, and Sirius and XM disclaim any intention or
obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments
occurring after the date of this press release.

Important Additional Information Will be Filed with the SEC
This communication is being made in respect of the proposed business
combination involving SIRIUS and XM. In connection with the proposed
transaction, SIRIUS plans to file with the SEC a Registration Statement on
Form S-4 containing a Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and each of
SIRIUS and XM plan to file with the SEC other documents regarding the
proposed transaction. The definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will
be mailed to stockholders of SIRIUS and XM. INVESTORS AND SECURITY
HOLDERS OF SIRIUS AND XM ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY
STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY
WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of
the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when
available) and other documents filed with the SEC by SIRIUS and XM
through the web site maintained by the SEC at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Home Page). Free copies of
the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus
(when available) and other documents filed with the SEC can also be
obtained by directing a request to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of
the Americas, New York, NY 10020, Attention: Investor Relations or by
directing a request to XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., 1500 Eckington
Place, NE Washington, DC 20002, Attention: Investor Relations.

SIRIUS, XM and their respective directors and executive officers and
other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of
proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding
SIRIUS' directors and executive officers is available in its Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which was filed with
the SEC on March 13, 2006, and its proxy statement for its 2006 annual
meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 21,
2006, and information regarding XM's directors and executive officers is
available in XM's Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December
31, 2005, which was filed with the SEC on March 3, 2006 and its proxy
statement for its 2006 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed
with the SEC on April 25, 2006. Other information regarding the
participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and
indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained
in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other relevant materials to
be filed with the SEC when they become available.



Please note: this is not a promotional e-mail. As a SIRIUS subscriber,
you will periodically receive service notices via e-mail. These
service notices are intended to provide you with helpful information that
will facilitate and enhance your SIRIUS listening experience.

[FrankZ]

Are the Sirius and XM receivers mutually exclusive of each other? If so which set will be forced to buy new equipment? I doubt they will be offereing a trade in arrangment. And will you have to pay to another activation fee (I hate those) if you are in the group forced to change.

[alohaboat]

Originally Posted by FrankZ

Are the Sirius and XM receivers mutually exclusive of each other? If so which set will be forced to buy new equipment? I doubt they will be offereing a trade in arrangment. And will you have to pay to another activation fee (I hate those) if you are in the group forced to change.

Mutually exclusive? yes and no. They have an activation code which they process at their facilites that will activate either receiver. So it is just a matter of them activating your code.

New activation fee? I doubt it. I have a long term contract with Sirius that locks me into the fees I paid up front.

My understanding is that neither group will be forced to change. They will just provide combined programming while eliminating overlapping programming.

But your best information is by calling XM or Sirius direct.

[Brent Swain]

I've heard that the merger may mean either one or the other system may be turned off. This would make it a bad time to buy either.You could wind up with something useless.
Both are useless out in the Pacific or anywhere but continental North America or the Caribean.
Both are unavailable to anyone who hasn't jumped on the credit card treadmill.
Buying into satellite radio means paying money to propagandists and nutbars like Howard Stern , CNN and Fox, whether you want to or not.
Whether or not they survive economically, even after the merger ,is questionable.
Brent

[hellosailor]

Coot-
"(since it gets regular messages about your movements and which channels you are listening to)." Not from what you posted. Dual-service, meaning both XM and Sirius, is not the same as "two way" and right now there is nothing sent back to the satellite companies. Nor does there have to be anything sent back to them, if a cell phone is simply being given the signal locally. Or did you see anything specific in the implementation that would also add the cellular provider into the deal and pass data back via the cell?

Gord-
Everyone is all excited, but XM and Sirius both operate under monopoly charters from the FCC. They were assigned specific frequencies based on the terms of their charters--and they are required to *compete* and, from what I've heard, also specifically barred from merger. So our SEC and FCC both have to agree before anything can go forward, and that's a coin-toss. The FCC could--and arguably should--demand that the duplicate frequency be returned to the public, or put up at public auction, etc, and that that would also require new equipment be given to "half" the customers. (Which should be no big deal, they both give away equipment if you contract with them for service.)

[coot]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Coot-
"(since it gets regular messages about your movements and which channels you are listening to)." Not from what you posted. Dual-service, meaning both XM and Sirius, is not the same as "two way" and right now there is nothing sent back to the satellite companies. Nor does there have to be anything sent back to them, if a cell phone is simply being given the signal locally. Or did you see anything specific in the implementation that would also add the cellular provider into the deal and pass data back via the cell?

Yes. The whole point of the patent is to use the cellular provider to pass information back to the satellite provider about which radio you are listening to.

The patent does NOT cover the idea of having a radio that can receive signals from more than one service. That idea fails both the test of obviousness and of prior art.

The patent covers the idea of attaching your subscription to your PDA instead of your radio receiver, allowing you to have as many receivers as you want for a single subscription fee, but limiting you to listening to only one receiver at a time.

The patented system works like this: The receiver tells the PDA it's serial number. Say it is 1234. The PDA sends a message to the service provider saying "I am at receiver 1234". The service provider sends a message over the satellite link that says "TURN ON #1234". It also turns OFF all the other receivers connected to your account.

In this way, you can buy one subscription, but have a receiver for your house, your car, your spouse's car, your office, your boat, etc. Wherever you go, you can listen to the satellite radio service that you have paid for, and you don't need to drag your radio around with you. BUT, you can't get 5 friends together, pay one subscription fee for 6 radios, and all get service at a discount. Only one of the radios works at a time -- the one that the PDA last asked to turn on.

The patent application specifically mentions several ways to squeeze more money out of this system, including the data mining possibilities.

[duderu]

Originally Posted by Louis Riel

Sattellite radio was a huge dissapointment .
I was really looking foreward to it. You cannot get satellite radio if you don't have a credit card. Having never taken a bank loan and never paid a penny of bank interest in my life, I'm not elligible for access to satellite radio. I'm a second class citizen according to the satellite radio fascists. There is also no way to get satellite radio without contributing to the pockets of racist slime balls like Howard Stern(um). or military propagandists like FOX news and CNN.
They can shove it where the sun don't shine.
Does any body know anything about DRM? Is it the same as Satellite radio?

When I signed up for sirius, there was an option to purchase a "lifetime" mebership for $799 if I remember correctly. It came out to paying the monthly for about 5yrs. I suppose that could be an option for you... no? Carry your mason jar down to radio shack and pop the top.

[hellosailor]

Louis?
"You cannot get satellite radio if you don't have a credit card. Having never taken a bank loan and never paid a penny of bank interest in my life, I'm not elligible for access to satellite radio."
Well, as Rick said in Casablanca, sadly you've been mislead. You do not need to pay any bank interest--eer in your life--to obtain a credit card. Nor do you ever have to have taken a bank loan. A 16-year old high school student with no job and no credit history can get one.
And, I'm fairly sure you don't need a credit card to get satellite radio, even if they ask you for one. There are any number of "check cards" and debit cards and other "use it like a credit" cards out there. Some even allow you to put finds in a specific account, and they only decrement that account.
If you have a mattress stuffed full of cash, you're a fossil. Rich fossil, but a fossil. If you use checks to pay people, you're a fossil. Check fraud is too high, many places won't take it from out of towners any more and the cost of processing it electronically costs them money too. Electronic transfers, based on credit/debit/checking cards, are simply the way business is done these days. if you prefer not to do it, that's fine. But as you have found out--people who stick to horse and buggy are simply rejected as customers these days.
By all means, be suspicious of it and try to do it safely. But if you think checks are in any way safer than credit cards? Boy, do you need to speak to your bank, you local merchants, the DOJ and the Treasury Department. Checks aren't worth the paper they are printed on, and cash currency isn't that far behind.
The first time I had to take a large currency payment ($7500 in all small bills) I asked the Treasury Department how I could be sure I was getting good bills. Their answer? "Don't take cash, there's no way you can tell if it is counterfeit." And that was nearly 30 years ago, even with the new currency--that hasn't changed.

[windthief]

Both are useless out in the Pacific or anywhere but continental North America or the Caribean.

That is a negative red leader....Niki and I just finished delivering a 36 William Garden ketch to Puesta Del Sol, Nicaragua and Xm worked fine. After Baja we lost the weather/traffic/religous channels but retained the music.

Hmmmmm,

[duderu]

OK.. My bet is that the XM brand is going to take over the marine and aviation weather and entertainment business and the Sirius brand is going to run the mainstream retail market. It was tough for me to decide because if I wanted realtime weather in my piper cherokee/Hunter 42, i'd have to order xm but there is definately more entertaiment options to be had with sirius. Look at sprint and nextel right now... merged, on the accounting books, but retained the corporate branding labels for their repective markets. It's the current trend... I hate trends... hahaha