[BC] Satellite Radio distribution was "Country Music plight in top towns"

[Alan Alsobrook]

First I can't speak as to how XM does things but as for Sirius, the Terrestrial repeaters receive 
their programing from a fixed bird that carries the master data stream that is sent to the moving 
birds. That stream is received and retransmitted on the repeater, the repeater currently (at least 
the last time I worked on one) has no provision to receive any alternate programing source. The 
second problem is that the full bandwidth is in use to provide the streams that are on the air now, 
and it's already being squeezed as it is. So I don't see how (without additional spectrum) that the 
satellite services could accommodate a mass of local stations. Also the reach of the TR's are very 
limited, and they only have good coverage in the real downtown areas. Last I knew Sirius only had 
about 130 or so TR's nation wide.

Robert Meuser wrote:
> It does not work that way. You are thinking in terms of program 
> channels. These are just a whole buch of bits all mingled together and 
> jumping between the terrestrial and satellite streams for ALL programs 
> at the same time.

-- 
Alan Alsobrook CSRE AMD
aalso at bellsouth.net