Digital audio radio service (
Spectrum management) refers to any type of digital radio program service. In the United States it is the official FCC term for digital radio services.
The most popular type of DARS in the U.S. and Canada is SDARS: Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, used by Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. XM and Sirius both operate in the 2.3-GHz S band, from 2320 to 2345 MHz.
Increasing the spectrum available for more services would be difficult, since unlike
C-band and K
u band services, which allow over 200 locations for satellites, S-band satellites must be spaced far apart, with current technology. Existing vehicle antennas would not allow reception of two different stations on the same frequency, though new technology, requiring a new kind of receiver, might be possible.
WorldSpace also operated a DARS network outside the United States and Canada with a footprint covering Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It used the L-band.
Spectrum Resources
In 1992, the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) allocated satellite radio services the 2310–2360 MHz band for ''Broadcasting Satellite Services (audio)''.
In the United States, from this global allocation, satellite radio (SDARS) services are allocated a subset, the 25MHz from 2320–2345 MHz.
This band is further broken down into sub-bands for space-to-ground and terrestrial broadcasts:
Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation
Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation was one of four companies bidding for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, or SDARS, licenses in the
United States. The service would have been a listener-supported
subscription
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...
digital audio service.
1990:
Sirius Satellite Radio, known then as Satellite CD Radio, Inc., proposes the concept of a satellite-delivered digital radio service to the
Federal Communications Commission.
1995 January: The FCC sets aside 50 MHz (2310 MHz through 2360 MHz) in the
S-band
The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional ...
for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, also known as
SDARS Digital audio radio service (Spectrum management) refers to any type of digital radio program service. In the United States it is the official FCC term for digital radio services.
The most popular type of DARS in the U.S. and Canada is SDARS: Satel ...
and now commonly known as Satellite Radio.
[http://dev.space.com/spacenews/archive95/sn1995.fff1476.html FCC sets aside spectrum for SDARS]
1997 April: American Mobile Satellite Corporation and Satellite CD Radio, Inc. are each awarded SDARS licenses. The companies eventually become known
XM Satellite Radio and
Sirius Satellite Radio, respectively.
Primosphere Limited Partnership
Primosphere Limited Partnership was one of four companies bidding for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, or SDARS, licenses in the United States. The service would have been an advertisement-supported digital audio service with an emphasis on ...
and Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation are denied licenses by becoming third and fourth lowest bidders, respectively, during the auction.
2001 September 25:
XM Satellite Radio officially launches.
2002 July 1:
Sirius Satellite Radio officially launches.
See also
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Digital audio
Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sa ...
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Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)
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Direct broadcast satellite
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Satellite radio
Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...
References
Digital radio
Satellite radio
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