Is Interoperability Here?
A seemingly boring, news-free Saturday night changed drastically this evening when a memo was circulated that was allegedly sent out this evening to Ford dealers. From message boards to blogs the story captures the imagination. The opening line is the reason for the buzz. It states that “SIRIUS will be changing the format of their broadcast on July 22, 2008 to allow for additional programming.”
Also of note is that this is a firmware update that will take 5 hours to complete. Speculation is running rampant as to what this could mean. There is talk that it may be preparation for Sirius to broadcast some Xm channels while others think this could be the first real case of interoperability. I personally like the interoperability argument as most of the meetings involving Commissioner Tate with Sirius and Xm executives seemed to center around enforcement matters. Proving the existence of interoperable radios could go a long way towards satisfying those critics who say that Sirius did not comply with the interoperable mandate.
[ Ford Memo ]
Thanks crfceo.
I don’t know what to think about this note.
It is obvious that this is quite a large update. 5 hours of on, active, clear sat signal to complete? Yikes. That is a lot of info.
Interopperability? I don’t know. I think if they prove they are interopperable now, they just lost their battle. The lack of interopperability, IMHO, is what is keeping the spectrum theives at bay. If they prove they are interopperable, they might as well sign off on Adelstien’s plan.
I don’t know what to make of it myself, but I thought I’d put it out there for more technical minds to debate.
Additional channels would be more indicative of getting the A-La-Carte services ready in my opinion. In other words bringing some additional programming to the existing service.
Interoperable would mean that the device is capable and licensed for receiving the full SDARS spectrum. I do not believe this to be the case.
IMO the speculation should be more along the lines of adding additional channels to facilitate a-la-carte rather than being interoperable
tyler is thinking along the lines I was….
and, he’s the sat-rad guru, so I take his opinion as the gold standard!