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Technology Stocks : XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: verdad who wrote (345)	11/18/2002 10:14:14 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3386

Isn't reception spotty due to shadowing (large trucks, bldgs, bridges, vegetation) Minimally, but nowhere near as badly as AM/FM signal attenuation (changes in weather), and various sources of RF interference (emf, power lines, mw, other antennae)? No. I've had XM since they opened for business, routinely drive over three and sometimes four states. There are precisely three places that outages are noticeable: (1) When traffic causes me to have to stop under an overpass; (2) In parking garages; (3) When the freeway goes significantly below ground level, particularly when there are overhead structures. That's about it. Signal is great. Sound quality is not anywhere near digital, however, the average listener doesn't know digital from a dog barking. And it is much better than FM. What are the value added services that XMSR can give audio subscribers? Are there sufficient numbers of people demanding these types of value added services? XM only recently added its first "premium" channel and no information has been released concerning subscriptions. HOWEVER, ad revenue promises to be a significant contributor to revenue.

To: verdad who wrote (345)	11/19/2002 3:51:19 PM
From: Michael Young	Respond to of 3386

I have two friends who have had the service for a few months. They tell me they haven't had any signal problems whatsoever, and the sound is much improved over regular FM. Although they did indicate they wished they had waited for one of the new Delphi units. I'm considering subscribing to the service myself. At first glance this situation reminded me of pigs such as GSTRF and IRID. But those companies sold products that nobody wanted. Early subscriber estimates turned out to be a major joke. The products simply had no demand! On the other hand XMSR seems to be hitting subscription estimates and consumers like the product. Do you doubt that GM sales staff will be able to convince car buyers to roll the cost of the XM service into the cost of the car loan? I doubt it will be a hard sell. At $2 it looks like an interesting speculation that a company with a popular product and big partners will get necessary financing. MIKE