Satellite Radio Hits Canadian Market

Telecom News Editorials Reports Glossary

5:30 am on December 6, 2005 | Category: Wireless Technology

Canada’s broadcasting and entertainment industry saw massive expansion last week, when thousands of Canadians flooded into electronics stores to purchase this country’s first subscription-based satellite radios.

At a cost of $13 to $15 per month, the main advantage of satellite radio services, over the normal AM/FM spectrum, is the huge selection of programming. Sirius Canada and Canadian Satellite Radio (XM) each offer their subscribers 80 to 100 commercial-free channels of news, talk radio, live sports, comedy, religion, drama, children’s programming, and music variety.

Whether satellite radio will truly take hold in Canada is yet to be seen, but technicians from both CSR and Sirius were working around the clock this weekend to accommodate considerably higher than expected demand. It appears that, for now anyway, satellite radio has effectively captivated the interest and attention of Canadian consumers.