Georgetown Partners has asked the FCC Enforcement Bureau to issued an order to stop Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. from broadcasting video via its Sirius Backseat TV offering.
The minority-owned private investment firm is using this as an 11th-hour effort to solidify its argument that 20% of spectrum should be handed over for minority-owned programming.
"By Sirius' own admission, its television service is planned to occupy up to 20 percent of its spectrum, so obviously 20 percent of the spectrum is available for something other than digital radio services and could be made available to provide competition," writes Georgetown Partners in its FCC filing.
"We could establish a competitive alternative voice using just the 20 percent of spectrum capacity that Sirius admits it is planning to use for broadcasting television instead of for radio. It now is crystal clear on the record that Sirius/XM does not require the entire 25 MHz swath of spectrum to provide digital audio radio programs," Georgetown stated.
Georgetown calls Sirius Backseat TV an unauthorized satellite live television broadcasting service using spectrum that the Commission licensed exclusively for satellite radio. They are requesting that the FCC Enforcement Bureau to conduct an investigation into Sirius' alleged misuse of spectrum.
OMG Vote already damn it
WHAT SOUR GRAPES....
SO OBVIOUS that all they want to do is screw these companies over. We need to go after this motherfucker!!!
Chester Davenport
Managing Director
Georgetown Partners L.L.C.
6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 214
Bethesda, MD 20817
Tel: (301) 530-8110
In other news Georgetown Partners has also asked the FCC Enforcement Bureau to hand Orbitcast over to them, and borrow my wife for a couple of nights.
Georgetown Partners has also requested the FCC Enforcement Bureau to stop GM from building Cadillacs. XM is included in the standard Cadillac package, and with XM ALSO included in Saturns a majority of the cars they sell have XM. This is clearly an unfair business practice and illegal in most countries.
All your wife belong to us
Time for the FCC to pull the FCC satellite radio operating licenses. Stop both of these companies once and for all from their blatant disregard of FCC agreements, rules, regulations and their misuse of the radio spectrum owned by the citizens of the United States.
Chester Davenport deserves a position in the FCC for his meticulous watch of the radio spectrum owned by the citizens of the United States, and his desire to keep it for ALL those who own it.
greedy bitches trying to steal what isn't theirs and stop others from succeeding! men like this give minorities a bad name...always trying to get something by screwing over someone else
Chester Davenport and Jesse "the nut cutter" Jackson are nothing but Blackmailers and should be put in their place (behind the woodshed).
Ehh, I don't like this shit either but didn't Mel think about all this happening when he came up with the merger idea? If not, he didn't do his homework.
These pieces of human garbage don't deserve to be called americans, or blacks, or men.
They're abortion failures.
I wonder what will happen when Obama gets into the white house.
Story by Michael Hartlieb. I defy anyone on this board to poke any holes is in it. Hartlieb's take is completely accurate and truthful. XM and Sirius have been lying to their customers for years about interoperable radios, and the FCC, and none of the Mel fan boys on this site or SiriusBuzz and other other pro-merger, Sirius-funded websites, seems to give a damn.
The 'Real' Story Behind the XM/Sirius Merger
by: Michael Hartleib posted on: July 11, 2008 |
I am both a satellite radio listener (consumer) and a major shareholder in Sirius (SIRI). As an investor, I have studied the technology and closely followed Sirius’ operations and those of XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) - its only competitor. I have also read its filings made over the years with the SEC and I not only have closely followed the merger proposal and the application Sirius and XM made for its approval to the FCC, but have actively participated in that proceeding.
Back in March 2007, approximately, I filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling with the FCC asking it to determine whether the two companies had complied with the condition the FCC imposed on both XM and Sirius when it granted each their licenses in 1997. That condition, which many consumers and individual shareholders may still be unaware of, required the companies provide an interoperable radio that would permit consumers to receive either XM or Sirius service from a single satellite radio receiver.
I filed the Petition for Declaratory Ruling at the FCC because, though ten years has passed since the FCC imposed the condition and long after XM and Sirius became operational, consumers still do not have access to an interoperable radio capable of receiving services from both companies. Moreover, shareholders have been kept in the dark about the impact that providing an interoperable radio would have on both companies' financial performance.
For consumers, one example of the adverse consequences of not having interoperable radios occurred on January 1, 2007 - to NASCAR fans. These listeners purchased XM radios because it provided NASCAR coverage. But when Sirius acquired the rights to broadcast NASCAR events, these listeners were forced to purchase new equipment, switch their service contracts to Sirius and lose their other XM services. Had the companies complied with the FCC’s interoperable radio requirement, these satellite radio consumers would not have been forced to buy new equipment or choose other programming offers in order to retain NASCAR programming.
Both XM and Sirius were well aware of the potential that interoperability provided not only for consumers, but also for the fortunes of both companies. In settling patent litigation between the two companies in 2000, a press release on February 16, 2000 stated:
Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio today announced an agreement to develop a unified standard for satellite radios. The standard is expected to accelerate growth of the satellite radio category by enabling consumers to purchase one radio capable of receiving both companies' broadcasts. XM Radio and Sirius will jointly fund development of the technology and work together to proliferate the new standard by creating a service mark for satellite radio. As part of the agreement, each company will contribute its intellectual property to the initiative and have agreed to resolve any pending patent litigation.
The companies both further extolled the unified standard as good news not only for consumers but also for shareholders because they said it would increase consumer use of satellite radio services, which logically was expected to have a positive effect on both companies’ revenues. The auto buying public would find particular benefits because the companies announced that no future OEM deals (auto manufacturers) would be exclusive. This would have meant that each vehicle manufactured with an interoperable radio would allow the auto buying public the ability to chose either XM or Sirius or both depending on their personal content preferences.
None of this happened, however. Why? Why are consumers who have spent tens of millions of dollars on non-interoperable radios now faced with the future prospect of having to spend the same amount or more once XM and Sirius merge? How has the lack of interoperable radios all these years affected each company’s financials and falling share prices?
Even with the merger, it will be one or more years before the combined programming of XM and Sirius can be received. In the interim, consumers have stopped or slowed their buying of satellite radio services because of the surrounding uncertainty about when and at what price a receiver will be available that can receive the programming of the merged entity. This confusion has only exacerbated an already serious decline in both companies' valuations and their shareholders are the ones being victimized.
As a consumer and shareholder, I have been asking for answers about what happened to the FCC’s interoperability mandate and the companies’ failure to comply with it. Not only have Sirius’ and XM’s executives refused to answer, the FCC has refused to address the issue of the companies’ failure to comply with its own rule or how its refusal to do so comports with its statutory obligations to protect the public’s interests in communications services.
The companies do offer a defense. They say they only had to “design and develop” the interoperable radios… not make them available to consumers. Think of it as a government-forced and shareholder-funded science project that the companies allocated up to 25 million dollars to complete. When specifically asked about this defense, the FCC says it can’t talk about it because the matter is pending before the Commission. With all due respect, it’s been “pending” for ten years. This seems all too convenient. It permits the FCC to refuse to explain why it hasn’t enforced its own rule by its continuous failure to enforce its own rule.
It’s been nearly two years since I began to ask questions about the lack of interoperable radios. The companies have defended themselves by silence, by inconsistent, ambiguous, and self-serving statements and even in testimony before Congressional committees. Recently, Senator Brownback obtained documents that have caused him to make inquiry about the truthfulness of the testimony given by Sirius’ CEO during some of his appearances before Congressional committees.
The reason this merger has been delayed, at a grave expense to shareholders, is because the companies are not in compliance with their licensing requirements and the FCC does not have the interest to address whether or not the companies have failed to properly serve satellite consumers’ interests. But the failure of the FCC regulatory oversight is not the only problem. The Department of Justice granted its approval of this merger precisely because of the companies’ failure to comply with the FCC’s interoperability mandate. The DOJ’s rationalized that because there are no interoperable radios, the companies still use radios capable of receiving only their respective services and hence do not compete with each other. In other words, the companies having prevented competition by violating the FCC regulatory requirement, there is no competition that could be harmed by the merger and hence no antitrust concerns.
Consumers and shareholders have been and are being duped. Shareholders have lost billions of dollars in investment. Consumers have spent hundreds of millions on unnecessary hardware. Why? Because at some point, these companies converted their business plans into a concerted effort to consolidate all of the satellite radio spectrum into one company. To do this, they flaunted the interoperable mandate, negotiated the merger, created a audio entertainment market out of whole cloth and engaged a host of Washington insiders to lobby their plan before the FCC, DOJ and Congress. During the process they kept their exclusive OEM deals, spent outrageous amounts of money for exclusive content, scuttled true competition, saddled consumers with soon to be obsolete equipment and forced consumers to invest in new equipment or forego satellite radio service.
Consumers and shareholders have been cheated and the government appears to be part of the problem or at least unwilling to do anything about it. Congress should investigate. Enough is known to question the candor and credibility of the highest-ranking executives in both companies, but in particular in Sirius. A lack of candor and credibility goes to the heart of the qualifications to be a FCC licensee. Under these circumstances, for the FCC to allow XM and Sirius to consolidate their licenses when it is not clear they are fit to hold such licenses is to favor the private interests of a few executives over the public interest and a failure of the FCC to perform the duties Congress gave it.
Disclosure: Author holds a long position in SIRI
Posted by: Jose | July 11, 2008 10:13 AM
THIS HAS BEEN CHALLENGED BEFORE
http://satelliteradiotechworld.blogspot.com/2007/04/sirius-back-seat-video-challenged.html
They also screwed up... in the original DARS licensing, the FCC granted the license holders to have complete "flexibility" to add "non-DARS" and "ancillary services" for use over their bandwidth -- provided it is consistent with the frequency allocation set aside for that portion of the spectrum by the ITU... which is the International Telecommunication Union.
The 2320MHz~2345MHz bandwidth is allocated for:
Mobile
Radio-Location
Fixed Service
Broadcast-Satellite
The ITU further defines "broadcast" as any transmission that includes, "sound transmissions, television transmissions or other types of transmissions."
GP screwed up. In their haste -- they didn't research this out to know that license holders in this portion of the spectrum are legally authorized to transmit TV signals.
Or better yet, this is merely a PR smearing campaign against Sirius and XM.
-
hay a/c
I like the Jose bit and think alot of its true.....
another abortion failure.
Why should either company offer an interoperable radio when they don't get an exlcusive subscription revenue stream? Mel talked about this at the hearings.
idiot.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Anonymous Coward | July 11, 2008 12:09 PM,
Proof of a "DUPED" subscriber who is unable to figure it out for himself and choses to be one of Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin blind, ignorant bitches.
TFNs. Always wanting something for nothing. The shakedown continues.
Mr. Davenport's efforts here are nothing short of blatant and naked OPPORTUNISM! Read their business description:
'
"Georgetown Partners, the minority-owned firm that analyzes FCC regulated markets "for opportunities to extend minority ownership and control,"...
So, they "scour the FCC list-of-items on agenda, and see where they can profit by using their race as an "opportunity"! Yes, I believe in "affirmative action", some 30+ years ago, when minorities needed such federally mandated assistance to help them be integrated fairly into the market-place"; In fact, integration and affirmative-action programs have been responsible for much of the "leveling-of-the-playing-field", which has resulted in a more fair and opportune circumstance for minority races; But, that was 30+ years ago! Such entitlement programs are no longer needed to such degrees! Monorities now enjoy a much more level playing field! You can't mandate good race relations, so you'll never legisltate the end of racism, but at the same time, what was appropriate 30+ years ago, might not be so today! I see Chester Davenport as nothing more than a "sheer opportunist", using his race as a tool to promote HIS PERSONAL AGENDA, not that of the "greater good"! This is shameful, and he is a man deserving of -0- respect! Why doesn't he push for Nate Davis to hold a prominent position in the newly formed Co.? I'll tell you why, b/c he's not concerned about "minority interest" as he is "partisan interest"!
I really hope the FCC can see through this...and I find it funny and laughable that Copps and Adelstein have to side with this fellow, simply b/c of "partisan politics"!
THIS IS OLD NEWS AND SIRIUS IS NOT VIOLATING ANYTHING, NOR ARE THEY IN ANY WAY DISREGARDING THE MANDATE. Face it. G-town know the merger is going through and that they are left out--wah wah
'the Commission has indicated that it would permit DARS licensees to provide so-called “ancillary services,” so long as such use was not “inconsistent with the international allocation.”' Video is consistent with international allocation; however, the Coalition makes the point that the FCC never specifically mentioned video. In our opinion, the FCC seemed to say that any service internationally authorized in the WCS band is suitable as an ancillary service for SDARS and video is specifically mentioned.
NIGGER !
getting desperate, shrill and ridiculous in the 11th hour--Sounds like someone who knows they wont get what they want from blackmail/shakedown--err i meant demands
Shake down, the "merger" is in break down, take down
Everybody who's ignorant wants into the crowded light
Break down, take down, Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin is busted
Let down your guard, fcc, cuz Melvin wants to line his pockets
Just about the time you think that it's alright
Break down, take down, Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin is busted
Again I say lease georgetown partners this 20% of the spectrum.
go on.. here ya go Cester... however.. if you can not use it within 2 years.... we take it back
Allow Chester the time to Build his own satellites, install his own repeaters, build or lease his own studios, set his own deals with record companies, pay his own royalties and pay for the leased portion of the spectrum.
My Name is Dave and i want 20% of your women :D
Sirius should cancel Sirius BackSeat TV and use the spectrum to broadcast 50 channels of Dr. Dre's "The Chronic," 24-7 just to piss Georgetown Partners off.
Alright.....THATS IT!!!
This Mutha Fucka has gone from being merely annoying....to criminally greedy....to now DOWNRIGHT FUCKING EVIL!!!!!
This FUCKING LOSER IS now out for nothing but revenge. It smacks of FUCKING DESPERATION....and it's making me FUCKING SMILE!!!
I LOVE it.!! I don't know why, but this last outrageous pathetic attempt by Mr. Davenport signals to me that its a DONE DEAL and I strongly believe he, Georgetown partners, the NAB and the rest of those fucking leeches ARE NOT GOING TO GET WHAT THEY WANTED!
I really feel now more than ever, that the MERGER WILL BE APPROVED...BUT...more importantly with VERY MILD CONCESSIONS.
I'm starting to feel happy. :-)
liam,
Your delusions of grandeur are going to make your smile turn upside down soon.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINWAT00976720080711?rpc=44
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday he would consider proposing further conditions on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) acquisition of XM Satellite Radio (XMSR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) if it were needed to win support of other FCC commissioners.
"They (FCC commissioners) need to figure out what it is that they want and propose it," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said at a press briefing. (Reporting by Peter Kaplan; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
NEVER EVER INVEST IN THIS SCAM THEY CALL A STOCK MARKET.
I LEARNED MY LESSON!
GP is now officially lower than dog shit.
The final straw will be when they take the ink out of the pens on finalize day... what sore losers..
Fuzzy Zoeller and Michael Richards are right on the money about Chester Davenport. Maybe not the greaseman.. though.
"Proof of a "DUPED" subscriber who is unable to figure it out for himself and choses to be one of Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin blind, ignorant bitches.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRONTMED , GO PHUCK YOURSELF.
Consider proposing further conditions? Sounds like Martin has an open ear.....that doesn't sound good.
"Chester Davenport deserves a position in the FCC for his meticulous watch of the radio spectrum owned by the citizens of the United States, and his desire to keep it for ALL those who own it."
Satrad is a paid service and not open to the general public - unlike terrestrial radio, which is being hijacked by iBiquty/HD Alliance.
Homer - how in the world is backseat TV ancillary to satellite radio? they've got nothing to do with each other. also, how do you explain this view by Public Knowledge (Mel's only friend in the public interest community). See their last letter to the FCC:
"While the FCC anticipated use of the DARS spectrum for ancillary services, the Commission noted its concern over any such use that was inconsistent with the international allocation obtained at the 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC-92). Establishment of Rules and Policies for the Digital Audio Radio Satellite Service in the 2310-2360 MHz Frequency Band, Report and Order Memorandum Opinion and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 12 FCC Rcd 5754, 5792-3 (1997). This allocation “was limited to audio broadcasting by digital modulation.” Amendment of the Commission’s Rules with Regard to the Establishment and Regulation of New Digital Audio Radio Services, Report and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 2310, 2310 (1995). The limitation to audio only is also reflected in the Commission’s rules, which define Satellite DARS as a “radiocommunication service in which audio programming is digitally transmitted by one or more space stations directly to fixed, mobile, and/or portable stations.” 47 C.F.R. § 25.201 (2007)."
Hey Jose -
When SIRI/XM merge why can't they just immediately put Oprah on channel 9?
Am I missing something?
SammyV - I'm not sure of what they can or will do. They've promised to immediately offer a package that includes XM plus 11 Sirius channels to XM subscribers, and v-v for Sirius subscribers, but haven't said which channels would be included among the 11. They might include Oprah, but maybe not. It'll be their choice, not yours. I guess they could delete one of their channels and simulcast Oprah, but Oprah might want to renegotiate her contract if she's going out to both subscriber bases, she might want more money. Just a guess.
Didn't FCC have to approve the backseat device before it went to market?
"Satrad is a paid service and not open to the general public - unlike terrestrial radio, which is being hijacked by iBiquty/HD Alliance."
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | July 11, 2008 1:50 PM
Typical satradio fanboy ignorance......
Now for the TRUTH....
"limited to audio broadcasting by digital modulation.”
Time for the FCC to pull the FCC satellite radio operating licenses. Stop both of these companies once and for all from their blatant disregard of FCC agreements, rules, regulations and their misuse of the radio spectrum owned by the citizens of the United States.
Chester Davenport deserves a position in the FCC for his meticulous watch of the radio spectrum owned by the citizens of the United States, and his desire to keep it for ALL those who own it.
GO FUCK YOURSELF HATERS
This merger shows so much what is wrong with America..Government uslessness? Check. Minorties looking for a free ride by scaring people of being racist. Check Check. And last I checked my Direct tv box doesnt get the Dish signal..And no one gets screwed by the merger.YOu only have to pay if you WANT MORE..which contrary to our spoiled we deserve everything attitude, is not a right..Dam what happened to us..
I am a Latin American citizen and I despise people who run on the cover of racism to exploit other people. I think those types of people like Georgetown Partners, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton, etc. are the biggest racists. They hold on this issue to profit from it. Even in this day when a black american is on a major party close to possibly becoming president, they still spew oh this is racist, etc.
These guys are nuts and this practice should stop. America is the land of dreams! these guys are raping us from our freedom and dreams!
So does anyone know what percentage of the FM spectrum belongs to minorities? If it's less than 20%, which I think it is, why the hell isn't GP going after that? Because they are fucking opportunists and realize that FM is dead and they want to hitch their wagon to sat radio for nothing. Assholes.
SIRI/XM will have the ability to put any of the content they own on any channel on any satellite they want. Call me crazy, but I am guessing that they will make the most marketable package available ASAP to lure new subscribers. So the merger pretty much solves 90% of the interoperabity issue as soon as the FCC says YES.
The ability to have the full spectrum and a la carte packages may be a few months off, but if the DOJ/FCC had approved in a reasonable amount of time, it would most likely have been available for Xmas.
My point: Can you please stop whining about the interoperability issue? It never made sense in the first place.
Chester has pulled the puppets strings. Next week, expect the Democratic party to come out in force with another round of senseless dribble. Obama 08
The FCC approved every device, including backseat video devices being used by Sirius subscribers. Georgetown P needs their balls cuts off by Jessie.
"And last I checked my Direct tv box doesnt get the Dish signal..And no one gets screwed by the merger."
uhhh there was NO! "merger" allowed between Direct tv and Dish.
My point: SammyV Can you please educate yourself and stop whining about the lack of interoperability, which is only an issue because the satradio industry ignored the FCC mandate. It might have never made sense to YOU in the first place, but those educated can understand it.
As a Black person I'm more than a little disturbed both by the greedy opportunism of Georgetown Partners and the fact that it's being used by so many here to justify blanket hatred of Blacks and in particular Obama. FYI, the "civil-rights era" charlatans like Jesse Jackson don't like Obama either and the younger generation of Blacks no longer feel the likes of Jackson or Sharpton speak for them as evidenced by this article:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1590708/20080710/nas.jhtml
So the constant attempts by some here to conflate Obama with Georgetown Partners (or any Black person who has ever done anything wrong) should be revisited. In fact, it's these "activist leaders" who are fermenting the opinion in the Black community that Obama is "acting too White" because he's intellegent, articulate and well-educated. Think about it, if Obama becomes president it would pull the rug under Jackson, Sharpton and their ilk because they can no longer say Blacks can't acheive and as such all their cries for undeserved handouts for their cronies will ring hollow. That's why the likes of Jesse Jackson hate Obama as much as many of you seem to.
Ron & Fez, noon to three.
"Seperate, but equal"
"This Satellite radio service will be chocolate at the end of the day...This satellite radio will be a majority African-American satellite radio. It's the way God wants it to be."
Jose, I don't know if you're still following this thread or not, but I just saw your comments...
"Ancillary" is defined as "subordinate, subsidiary, auxiliary, supplementary"... one doesn't HAVE to have anything to do with the other -- it just needs to be "in addition to". And you can't get the Sirius video offering on its own. You have to have the radio service to be able to get the video service. It's offered as "additional service".
This is from the DARS licensing in 1997. This R&O superceeds ANYTHING put out in 1995:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Ancillary Services
94. In the Notice, we discussed the possibility of satellite DARS providers offering non-DARS, or ancillary, services. We sought comment on what restrictions, if any, should apply to such services and on how to monitor compliance with any restrictions. In response, commenters favored allowing provision of ancillary services. Current satellite DARS applicants urged that the Commission allow flexibility to provide such services. Other commenters stated that allowing ancillary services will promote full and efficient use of the spectrum and could lower the price of DARS service, particularly in the early stages as satellite DARS is established.
95. Some commenters suggested particular services that would be complementary. For example, Ford Motor Co. suggested allowing data services. Radio Order Corp. urges us to allow song related voice messaging that would permit the listener to access information on a particular song during the uninterrupted music. The USDA/Forest Service National Weather Program suggests that satellite DARS providers could dedicate a channel to broadcasting potentially life-saving forest fire and emergency information.
96. The applicants have proposed a mix of ancillary services. We agree with the commenters who argue that allowing flexibility consistent with the allocation will allow providers to tailor service offerings to meet consumer needs. Because the United States successfully obtained an international allocation for satellite DARS at WARC-92, we would be concerned about any use of the spectrum that is inconsistent with the international allocation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't know how PK came to their conlcusions, but I believe they are wrong. The 1997 R&O established DARS and its rules & regulations -- the 1995 R&O did not. There is nothing in the 1997 R&O that states DARS is "limited" to "audio broadcasting" only... NOTHING. I've read through it several times. Furthermore, the "ancillary services" section clearly allows the use of the spectrum to be more than just "audio broadcasting". As long as they are consistent with ITU allocation, they are fine.
If what PK is stating is true, then XM's use of it for their Weather data service and their Traffic data service and their Parking Lot data service-- all of them are illegal too. Because none of them are "audio broadcasting"... and none of them have anything to do with DARS... but they are still cleary "ancillary". You have to have the radio service to get these offerings. They are offered "in addition to"... so they are ancillary.
PK is wrong -- as is Georgetown. The Commission clearly gave the green light to offer secondary services, as long as it didn't offer something not allocated for that bandwidth... and the allocation of that bandwidth is VERY broad. More than you can imagine. Having FOUR different allocations like that -- Mobile, Fixed, Radiolocation, Broadcasting/Satellite -- basically allows the license holder the right to do almost anything they wanted. "Broadcasting" is the key. Because "broadcasting" is clearly defined as audio and/or video. PK is just wrong by stating that the allocation for this bandwidth doesn't allow for video broadcasting... or better yet, perhaps PK isn't thinking broadly enough... sure "DARS" may be "audio only", but the spectrum allocation allows for more than just audio. And the DARS licensing provision (above) clearly gave the license holders the flexibility to do something "other than" just DARS. PK and Georgetown are dead wrong. The EB will not move on their request at all. The IB will explain to the EB fairly quickly why Georgetown is wrong -- then reject their request.
-
Why is everyone so concerned about this merger... meanwhile the cable companies are running wild all over. How could tiered pricing for cable not be beneficial to consumers? I've said it before and I'll say it again....our government needs to start making decisions based on what's good for the people and not what furthers their own career. Stop wasting time on nonsense that will have no effect on what helps this country move forward... I am a subscriber for Sirius and an investor for both XM and Sirius.... MAKE a decision either way and move on to the important issues in the country..... ASSHOLES....
IMHO, Sirius should file a response quickly to the EB on Monday, plus put out a PR stating the above facts -- on why Georgetown is wrong. In it, they should invite the IB to explain to the EB the facts of what the DARS license allows them to do. Georgetown is only doing this to paint DARS in a bad light -- it is time for a harsh response, to demonstrate why they are wrong and how they are unfairly attacking DARS now.
Where in the charter of the FCC is it written that they are responsible for negotiating non-profit deals with for-profit broadcasters?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz boring.