We asked XM’s vice president for corporate affairs, Chance Patterson, to reply to what O’Shaughnessy wrote, as reported above.
His reply:
“What we are doing and have done is clearly consistent with all regulations. There’s no issue here as far as whether we’re doing something consistent with our license or not. It’s all going through the satellite. It’s a nationwide service.
“Say you’re a Washington Redskins fan. The game will be broadcast nationwide. Clearly the majority of people who would be interested in the game are in the Washington area … but fans in California can listen too. The situation is similar with XM’s nationwide traffic service.
“The bottom line is our subscribers have indicated that this is a service they desire, so we’ve been fortunate to partner up with Mobility Technologies. They have a state-of-the-art traffic data system that will be a significant benefit to our subscribers. This is not only a strong consumer offering, it’s also going to be a public service in that it should help people avoid traffic jams and avoid accidents. So consumers will benefit from this.
“This is an issue about content. This is content that is useful for people who are on the nation’s roads and our content is what separates us from AM and FM, the lack of commercials, and programming that consumers desire.”
