The NAB meanwhile filed at the FCC a petition to deny what it calls “the proposed merger-to-monopoly” of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.
A decade ago, the FCC established satellite digital radio as a distinct, “continuous nationwide” service that “local radio inherently cannot provide,” states NAB in its petition. At the time, the commission authorized two separate services; Sirius had argued that such limits were necessary to preserve satellite digital radio competition and prevent a monopoly, NAB argues.
NAB further states: “The commission has said repeatedly that a threshold question in a merger case is whether the proposed merger would violate a Commission rule or policy. The proposed merger of XM and Sirius would violate the satellite DARS anti-merger rule, long-standing Commission policies against spectrum monopolies, and the pro-competitive vision enshrined in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.”
