Satcasters Still Working To Correct Emission Problems

Almost three months after first being served notice by the FCC, XM is still working on retooling its radios to comply with the agency's emission limits.

As previously reported , the company has suspended shipments of its Delphi XM SKYFi2 and Audiovox Xpress radios on the heels of the FCC's concerns about transmitters in the units. The FCC addressed those concerns in a letter to the company on April 25.

In a recent SEC filing, XM Satellite Radio says that while it obtained new FCC certifications in mid-June for modifications performed on the suspect equipment, the certifications have been dismissed by the FCC.

However, dismissal ?which is different than "denial" ? allows the equipment certifications to be reinstated if the equipment is deemed compliant. XM says it is working to finish the necessary modifications and/or will conduct additional testing for XM radios to address any uncertainties in the testing results.

In the meantime, the company says its working to limit interruptions in the supply of certain models of XM radios to retailers.

And on Thursday (July 20), Sirius Satellite Radio also disclosed in an SEC 8-K filing that it informed receiver manufacturers to cease making some models with internal transmitters that are suspect to exceed FCC emission limits. The company says it believes all of its receivers on the market now are within compliance but continues to monitor its equipment's emission levels.


-- additional reporting by Mike Boyle