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In October 1999 AMSC spun off XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. In large cities, where the signal would be impaired by tall buildings, XM planned a network of 1,700 repeating towers to ensure uninterrupted coverage. The company was now planning to launch two stationary satellites which would beam down signals to listeners across the United States. In June 1999 XM received a $250 million investment in the form of convertible debt from General Motors, DirecTV, Inc., Clear Channel Communications, Inc., and three investment firms. Shortly after being hired, Panero renamed the operation XM Satellite Radio.
E STREET SHUFFLE ON XM RADIO TV
In 1998 AMSC hired former journalist, Time Warner Cable executive, and Request TV head Hugh Panero to run its radio unit, with Gary Parsons serving as its chairman.
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It was one of just two licenses the agency granted, the other going to a firm called CD Radio, Inc., which had been working since 1990 on developing the digital radio concept.
E STREET SHUFFLE ON XM RADIO LICENSE
In 1997 AMSC's radio unit spent $89.9 million to buy an FCC license to broadcast digital radio by satellite. In the spring and summer there were a number of management changes, with new board members, a new chief financial officer, a new chairman, and a new CEO in Gary Parsons, who had been recruited from MCI Communications Corp. In April 1996 AMSC reported that it was close to bankruptcy, but it was bailed out when Hughes and several other firms granted it a $225 million line of credit. As a result, the firm signed up far fewer customers than expected, primarily trucking companies, boaters, and airplane owners. The growth of cellular telephone networks was mushrooming at this time, however, and the usefulness of AMSC's phone service was decreasing almost daily. The company was now planning to offer a bulky $2,000 satellite telephone to customers which would work anywhere in the United States. In December 1993 AMSC went public on the NASDAQ.ĪMSC's first satellite was launched in April 1995 from Cape Canaveral. The company was also looking into offering other satellite-based services, and in June 1992 formed a unit called American Mobile Radio Corporation to develop a satellite-based digital radio broadcasting service.
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Before that took place, the firm would lease space on other satellites for its data transmission services. In 1990 AMSC announced that a $100 million satellite would be built for it by Hughes and launched by the mid-1990s. It was named American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC). Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had ruled that sufficient bandwidth existed for only one license to be issued for such broadcasting, which forced the competing firms to form the joint venture. It was made up of eight organizations including Hughes Aircraft Co., McCaw Communications, Inc., and Mobile Telecommunications Technologies Corp. The origins of XM Satellite Radio date to 1988, when a consortium was formed to buy a license for satellite broadcasting of telephone, fax, and data signals. XM has also created a radio channel for the Starbucks coffee shop chain, and provides data services such as traffic information for Cadillac and Acura owners. Others listen via XM-ready boomboxes or personal stereos, and over the Internet. Automakers including General Motors, Honda, and Toyota offer XM-ready radios as options, and the company has gained half of its subscribers through installations in vehicles. XM's's broadcasts are beamed from two satellites to more than three million subscribers who pay a monthly fee of $9.95. Its offerings range from broadcasts of Major League Baseball and NASCAR events to channels featuring content from CNN, Playboy, MTV, ABC News, Disney, Sesame Street, and Discovery. The company's programming includes nearly 70 channels of commercial-free music and more than 50 of news, sports, and talk. broadcasts more than 120 channels of digital radio via satellite to subscribers throughout the United States.