XM/Sirius: Interoperable Radios Weren't Required

Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have asked the Federal Communications Commission to reject a request by the Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio (C3SR) for an investigation into the companies. The coalition asserted that XM and Sirius failed to produce interoperable radios as the FCC required in granting them the only two satellite licenses. The satellite companies said they were never required to manufacture or distribute such devices. In a letter to the FCC, lawyers for XM and Sirius argued that the agency never required them to make the radio, only to design it. "The implementing rules and license conditions merely require the licensees to design an interoperable receiver. The commission left the decision to manufacture, import, distribute, deploy, market and sell interoperable radios to the private sector," they said.
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