Portable Satellite Radio

In the year 1992, the Federal communications commission (FCC) allotted the spectrum of 2.3 GHz, known as 'S band', for broadcasting satellite-based radio service. This service is called digital audio radio service (DARS). Satellite radios are available, according to your needs, in cars, at homes and as a plug and play utility. They come in compact shapes and require separate accessory kits for operating them in cars, home or at any other place.

Satellite radio is an emerging radio technology. The working of satellite radio is just like your cable TV, where you have to subscribe and pay monthly for the radio service. The portable satellite radio provides unparalleled programming variety, including hip-hop, rock, country, jazz, classical, Latin, Christian and pop music channels.

The portable satellite radios have a base radio station on earth. From this base radio station, music, talk shows, news and commentary of a game are transmitted to the satellite. The satellite then transmits the signal to the intended continent. The satellite stations broadcast digital signals to the portable satellite radio and this broadcast is available anywhere with clarity. The commercial breaks are eliminated and instead, a monthly subscription fee is levied on the listeners. This technology was being developed for years. Finally, XM and Sirius were the two companies which came up with the equipment that is required for portable satellite radio. These radio stations use geostationary satellites that provide signal to the receiver unit on the earth. These receiver units provide service to the subscriber's radio set. The receiver units buffer the signals from the satellite. If a signal is lost, the repeaters retransmit the signal and continuous signal is made available to the users of portable radio.

The portable radio sets receive meta data along with the actual information. That is, a song is broadcast along with the title, artist, name of the radio program and the radio channel that plays the song. The portable satellite radio has a facility of recording a certain program or sports commentary, so that you can listen to it when you have time. During a major natural calamity, the portable satellite radio stations can work without failure and continuously provide exact information about the calamity.

The traditional radio has a biggest disadvantage of commercial breaks. Usually, the radio stations are flipped by users to avoid the commercial breaks. Portable satellite radio removes this drawback of the traditional radio, as they have no commercial breaks. You can listen to the radio anywhere in your continent. The transmission is digital that ensures clear sound quality.

Laptop computers can also play the satellite radio stations. Also, the satellite radio subscription provides you with 120 channels. Any traditional radio station does not provide this facility. The coverage provided by the portable satellite radio is for a continent and is not restricted to a particular city.

Many people do not prefer portable satellite radio because of the one time activation charges along with the monthly subscription fee. This type of radio requires a different receiver and does not broadcast the traditional radio stations. Nevertheless, its popularity is increasing day by day. The program diversity and radio portability are the major reasons that contribute to its success.