A smattering of Attorneys General spent roughly 45 minutes on the phone with FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, on Wednesday, voicing their concerns about the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

According to a WSJ blogpost, Rob McKenna Washington State's Republican AG and Connecticut's Democratic AG Richard Blumenthal joined assistant AGs from 8 other states to press the commissioner to vote against the deal, or at the very least, place tough conditions on it.

They also expressed concern about the lack of an interoperable radio that would work with both services, as well as the "significant harms" that would result from "the loss of a direct competitor."

"The states further explained that the lack of an interoperable radio is emblematic of the licensees' disregard for competition and consumers and urged that the licensees should be required to make the intellectual property for an interoperable receiver freely licensable and available for manufacturers and standards setting bodies," wrote the Attorneys General in a recent ex parte filing.

"The attorneys generals have a number of serious concerns," said Adelstein sharing their concerns. "They have a feeling that the Justice Department did not pay proper deference to their concerns when it issued its opinion ... In this case, those concerns were dismissed and there was no proper audience given to the attorneys general."

"I think it is important that the FCC, after such dismissive treatment by the AGs, take extra consideration on the very legitimate concerns that the attorneys generals are raising," Adelstein told reporters.

When asked how he planned to vote on the merger, Adelstein said it would depend on how the deal was conditioned.

[View FCC Filings (PDF) via WSJ Deal Journal, Broadcasting & Cable]

If you're in the market for a Pioneer Inno and haven't seen this one already, you might want to mosey on down to the psychopaths folks at woot! for a nice little bit of savings.

The Woot Sellout deal of the day is a refurb Pioneer Inno2 portable XM Satellite Radio for $69.99 (plus $5 shipping). Not a bad bargain, not bad at all.

[Woot Sellout]
Thanks Edward!

Representatives from Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. continue to have meetings with the Federal Communication Commission, indicating that the process is moving forward (though, arguably at a snail's pace).

The meetings between the companies and the FCC, predictively, began to increase pace after the Justice Department's approval of the merger. Prior to the DOJ's announcement there was little activity between Sirius-XM and the agency in terms of meetings, according to FCC filings.

In April, the companies collectively held a total of five meetings with the Commission - one of which was done over the phone.

In this month alone there have been three meetings held at the FCC's offices, an early indication that talks between the two are increasing frequency - and possibly nearing an end.

Yesterday, representatives from Sirius and XM met with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Daniel Gonzalez, Catherine Bohigian, and Elizabeth Andrion. A prior phone meeting on Tuesday, was held between XM Satellite Radio (sans Sirius) and Amy Blankenship, Legal Advisor in Commissioner Tate's office. Last week, Sirius and XM met with Chairman Martin.

None of the recent filings have given any additional details other than that the companies have reiterated their positions and "urged prompt approval of the pending merger."

[View FCC Filings: 1, 2, 3 (PDF)]

FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate's office met with the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) on Wednesday, according to a recent filing.

Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Amy Blakenship, Legal Assistant to Commissioner Tate discussed the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. even though MMTC has not filed comments on the merger.

This is where it gets interesting: MMTC said they do not have plans to file any commats this time "as the merger does not appear to have a direct, specific impact on minority ownership policy."

Regarding the proposal endorsed by Congressmen Towns (albeit, later retracted) to set aside channel space for leases for minority ownership, MMTC said that "the Commission should bear in mind the greater difficulty minorities face when leasing rather than purchasing assets. Therefore, the Commission should examine the specific terms of the proposal for longevity, uniqueness, and financial sustainability of the contemplated operation."

That's a very interesting take, and quite the departure from other minority groups who have presented in the past.

[View FCC Filing (PDF)]

Senior House Energy & Commerce Committee member Bobby Rush (D-IL) has backed out of a letter about the Sirius-XM merger he had co-signed to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin only the day before.

Rush, along with Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), stated in the original letter that they had "fully supported" Sirius' and XM's voluntary commitment to dedicate eight channels for minority ownership.

In a separate letter a day later, Rush now says that he and Towns had a "miscommunication," and that while he advocates setting aside channels for minority ownership, he says eight channels aren't nearly enough.

"While I certainly believe it's important to dedicate channels for minority ownership, I do not believe a mere eight channels out of 300 total in the combined entity represents an 'important and realistic effort to address the dearth of minority ownership'," writes Rush.

"I firmly believe that XM and Sirius can designate far more channels than eight for minority ownership" he added, suggesting a number of channels closer to the 35% of the population that "people of color" represent.

While still a supporter of the merger, Rush says the 8-channel set-aside fails to satisfy his "advocacy for a more aggressive policy that emulates the real diversity of the American public."

[Broadcasting & Cable, Radio Ink]

Next Tuesday on Orbitcast Radio, I will be joined by Kathleen Wallman of U.S. Electronics and Gigi Sohn president/co-founder of Washington DC based public interest group Public Knowledge, to discuss the concept of "open access" in satellite radio.

Open access has recently gained significant momentum in the discussions surrounding the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio, especially following a recent supporting letter from Reps. John Dingell and Ed Markey.

Key questions:

• What is the significance of open access?
• How does this affect consumers?
• Can Sirius/XM remain protected while still remaining "open"?
  

Don't miss this special "afternoon edition" of Orbitcast Radio, live next Tuesday, May 13th at 1:30pm ET/10:30am PT.

[Click here to set a reminder]

XM Satellite Radio has also announced that they will holding their Q1 earnings conference call on Monday May 12th, at 10am ET.

As usual, there will be a webcast of the call, or you can dial-in at 877-265-5808 (Conference ID#: 46660772).

Of course, everyone is crossing their fingers - but not holding their breath - that the FCC will have ruled by then.

Sirius Satellite Radio will announce its 1Q08 results on Monday, May 12th.

The conference call will be held at 4:30pm ET (left-coasters rejoice!), which can be heard online as a webcast, or on Sirius channel 119.

Microsoft Corp. and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group have partnered together to build a music and information system to rival Ford Motor Co.'s SYNC system. The system is set to debut in cars sold in North America in 2010.

Hyundai is the first major Asian automaker to commit to using the Microsoft Auto platform with the goal of bringing these systems worldwide.

The infotainment systems will be a voice-controlled interface linking mobile devices to car stereo systems, with the ability for new functionality through software updates via the USB port - much like Ford SYNC. Later versions are expected to include multimedia and navigation-related features, said Microsoft/Hyundai.

Hyundai-Kia will first introduce vehicles in North America in 2010 and expand to the Asian and European regions shortly afterwards.

As I predicted, this is only the beginning. The product deal marks a win for Microsoft and you can bet that we will see more of these partnerships with other automakers in the future. Microsoft Auto systems - which are essentially mini-PCs - are currently available in Fiat in Europe and South America, and in Ford in North America.

With automakers like BMW and Chrysler working to bring Internet access to vehicles, the market for car-based information and data systems is expected grow rapidly in coming years, and Microsoft plans to be part of this movement.