The merger between Sirius and XM has happened, but the issue was not totally resolved with the FCC when the decision to allow the companies to merge was announced. With the announcement of the approval of the license transfer, the FCC took it upon itself to investigate the possibility that HD radio technology should be included in 100% of satellite radios manufactured.
The file on the issue has had a spattering of comments from manufactures, Sirius XM, Ibiquity and others, but the debate has been rather slow…until now. Over the past couple of days, the HD issue has begun to heat up.
The first salvos came early on, and there was little discussion and debate, but rather various companies and organizations offering up an opinion, or jockeying for position. Comments from Ford, GM, and Toyota that oppose the requirement were strong statements, but it is a recent comment by the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) that perhaps is the most damning yet of forced HD inclusion. AIAM includes Aston Martin, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Maserati, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. The organization offered up very strong arguments such as the fact that the forced inclusion would add costs to cars for a product which as yet is uproven as a desire from consumers.
Other interesting filings include:
Continental, a parts supplier to the auto industry, calls HD inclusion in theior FCC filing the “Anti A-La-Carte” proposal and warns that forced integration is a slippery slope that would propel Ibiquity to instant market parity through regulation instead of market success.
The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), offers support for HD Inclusion. Their argument states, ” Like any other consumer group, many of the over 50 million people with disabilities inthe United States listen to radio for news, information, music and other entertainment. They listen to over-the-air broadcasts, they pay for radio programming in their cars, and they want the
benefits of any new radio technologies, particularly if these offer a means of accessibility.”
While I have compassion for people with disabilities, I would stop short of saying that mandated HD inclusion into SDARS receivers helps those that are disabled in any meaningful way at this point.
