Welcome back, hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend (I'm still recovering). And just to welcome us back, Directed Electronics has filed an 8-k, that confirms what we heard about the mysterious missing Sirius units. Apparently the Sirius S50 and the Starmate Replay FM transmitters are not in FCC compliance. Directed received a letter on 6/30 notifying them of this.
In a recent report by Bank of America analyst Jonathan Jacoby, he suspects that Sirius' plug-and-play receiver shipments "ended on 6/23/06." Interesting.
Check out the 8-k excerpt after the jump...
(snip)
On June 30, 2006, we received a letter from the Federal Communications Commission stating that its Office of Engineering and Technology Laboratory has tested the Sirius ST2 and Sirius S50-C radios and has determined that the transmitters are not in compliance with either the applicable operating frequency range or the applicable emission limits. The letter seeks information from us regarding the certification, manufacturing, importation, and other matters relating to these radios. We intend to fully cooperate with the FCC, are conducting an internal review, and anticipate responding to the letter shortly. We are also working with SIRIUS and our contract manufacturers to make any and all necessary modifications to ensure that we distribute only FCC-compliant products, to obtain new equipment authorizations where appropriate, and to minimize any interruption in supply of these wireless SIRIUS radios to retailers and consumers. No health or safety issues are involved with these radios.
As previously disclosed, in August 2004 we began selling, marketing, and distributing products for SIRIUS Satellite Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio company that provides content to compatible receivers, including the SIRIUS-branded receivers we distribute. SIRIUS-branded satellite receivers are designed and developed by SIRIUS and manufactured by our contract manufacturers to specifications provided by SIRIUS. We have a multi-year agreement with SIRIUS pursuant to which we have exclusive distribution rights to our existing U.S. retailer customer base, including Best Buy and Circuit City. The SIRIUS-branded products we distribute include plug-and-play receivers, docking kits, home receivers, down link processors, and accessories such as antennas and boom boxes.
Although we believe that it is too early in the process to determine with any degree of certainty the significance, if any, of these matters to our business, results of operations, or financial position, we fully expect to resolve these issues in a timely manner and expect that our 2006 results will continue to be in line with prior guidance.
(snip)
No wonder mine broadcasts half a mile.
I wonder how all the FM transmitter makers (for the iPod, etc.) would stack up in the FCC test? Perhaps I'm a bit paranoid, but it sounds like a sat radio witch-hunt to me. Either test them all, or test none of them.
I'm glad that XM and Sirius can get over this bump in the road -- let's see what the NAB tries next.
Back from the holiday weekend and suprise suprise. So Frear did lie. Way to go!
Mel K, I expect you to fire this idiot. His habitual lying makes Sirius and the industry look bad.
It's sad how XM has taken the brunt of the wrath though. At least they were honest about it.
According to the major lawsuit against the executives at XM brought on by many shareholders who infact believe that xm knew they never would reach the 9 million mark, isn't that lieing also.
What about all the FM mods out there on the market? At Target I saw about 5 different fm mods for ipods. What we have is a government harassment of Satrad being paid for by the RIAA.
Back from vacation and find out Korea's messing with our heads again!
I thought Sirius had all the FCC crap worked out? What's up with the FCC lately anyways...they don't seem to ever stop.
Vic its what we like to call a lie. Sirius lied to everyone saying things were fine when in actuallity they weren't, and for some reason XM gets sued.