Merger Likely to Usher In a One-Radio Future

What does the merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio me for car owners? What should a buyer say to a salesperson who asks, "Which kind of radio do you want in your car, AM or FM?" It sounds like a ridiculous question, but that is just the sort of frustrating choice buyers have been facing in recent years. Would it be smarter to get a radio that tunes in the XM satellite service or one that works with Sirius? What about a unit that receives HD Radio broadcasts? Since satellite radio began, the competing services have used different digital formats, essentially locking in listeners to one service or the other. Those days of frustration could soon be over. Digital radio, which includes the satellite companies as well as HD Radio broadcasts, often referred to as hybrid digital radio, offers the allure of clean high-fidelity sound, free of the static that can interrupt today's analog radio broadcasts. However, to receive the digital programming each service requires its own tuner to decode the signals, which is why listeners have had to decide on one service or the other. Before long, though, new car audio systems may all be factory-equipped with the ability to accept the three forms of digital programming, just as radios have long tuned in both AM and FM stations. The most recent step toward compatibility was the approval last month by the Federal Communications Commission of a merger of the satellite services.