In 1988, American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC) was formed with the intention of providing a satellite telephone, fax and data network. It was ruled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that sufficient bandwidth existed for only one license to be issued for such broadcasting, which forced the competing firms to form the joint venture. It was the above named American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC) who was granted the license. In 1992, CD Radio, who later changed their name to Sirius Satellite Radio, successfully petitioned the FCC and Congress to examine the creation of a new digital audio radio service in the United States (Uhle, 1998).
Seeing the potential of digital broadcasting the American Mobile Satellite Corporation created a new division of the company called American Mobile Radio Corporation (AMRC). This new company AMRC was one of four other potential digital broadcasters to apply for a license which would give them the potential to broadcast digital radio to the United States. AMRC (also known as XM radio) were granted a license to broadcast digital radio, it was It was one of just two licenses the FCC granted, the other going to a firm called CD Radio, Inc. (now known as Sirius Radio), which had been working since 1990 on developing the digital radio concept (Uhle, 1998).
In 1998, AMRC announced that it will it will exercise a $52.9 million option to upgrade its two satellites supplied by Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc. (HSCI), to the "Max Power" HS 702 geostationary satellites, potentially doubling the capacity of its system. AMRC state "It is the new standard for robust communications networks. This move dramatically strengthens AMRC's ability to better serve the marketplace" (Andrews, 1998). Sirius Radio also launched its satellites to serve the market place and the battle for consumers began.
Since their conception there have been many internet and blog discussions over who is the best digital radio station and many comparisons have been made. Both companies provide both goods (radio receiver) and service (the music and entertainment stations provided). Both of these products have to be able to satisfy the customers’ needs, bearing in mind that all customers have different needs (Pride & Ferrell, 2008).
“The quick pace of developing technologies and increasing competition can make it difficult to gain strategic competitive advantage through physical product alone. Customers are becoming more demanding. They not only expect excellent high quality goods; they also expect high levels of service along with them” (Lee & Carter, 2005:253).
Robert Zimmerman, the senior vice president of business development, for American Cable Communications (ACC) was in the process of looking for a potential acquisition target for ACC. In December 2007, Zimmerman remember a presentation that was made recently by Rubinstein & Ross (R&R). R&R was a boutique investment bank that was well known for doing deals in the media and telecommunications area. During this presentation it was suggested that ACC buy out AirThread Connections (AirThread) which is a large regional cellular provider. The current industry of these companies were moving more toward bundled service offerings and by adding AirThread it would help ACC cover an area of service it does not currently offer. In order to determine if the acquisition should be done an analysis needs to be done.
-The American people were hungry for new music, so they accepted the independent stations of the majors.
The 1920's brought many advancements in technology which allowed Americans to entertain themselves at home; the radio was one of them. The radio was actually developed before the 1920's; however, it was banned during World War I and allowed to reappear after the Prohibition ended in 1919 (Events 72). After the Prohibition ended, and radio broadcasting was being brought back to life, many people started up their first stations, like Frank Conrad (Events 72). Frank Conrad's first broadcast consisted of the Presidential Election results (Events 72). As Conrad was one of the first people to broadcast, KDKA was one of the first radio stations to appear in the Unite...
Since the customers in this industry are not price sensitive, having a competitive advantage is vital for firms. Hill-Rom considers customer service is its reputation, thus gives significant value to its customer relationships. In addition, its variety of products gives high competitive advantage to the
White, Thomas. "The Development of Radio Networks." Early Radio History. Early Radio History, 2010. Web. 20 Sep 2010.
Years later, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 triggered dramatic changes in the competitive landscape. SBC Communications Inc. established itself as a global communications provider by acquiring Pacific Telesis Group and becoming the new AT&T. The merger of AT& T and BellSouth, along with the ownership consolidation of Cingular Wireless and YELLOWPAGES.COM, will speed convergence, competition and continued innovation in the communications and entertainment industry, creating new solutions for consumers and businesses and positioned to lead the industry in one of its most signifi...
Satellite radio is a technology that provides a radically new way to listen to radio. XM’s service makes use of advanced satellite capabilities and elaborates terrestrial receiver architecture to deliver a wide array of high quality radio programming nationwide. In early 1998, Robert Acker, director of strategic planning at XM, needs to develop a marketing strategy for this new radio service. There are several decisions that need to be made by the company in order to finalize the business plan. At fist XM needs to decide which of two business models to pursue, whether emphasis should be placed on charging customers a monthly subscription fee, or whether to rely more on earning revenue through advertising. In addressing this problem, management must consider the value that XM radio could propose for different consumer segments as compared with existing modes of radio (AM, FM) and in relation to its sole competitor in satellite radio – SIRIUS. Besides choosing a business model there is also a need to explore how best to approach and leverage manufacturer and channel partners, considering high unknown and high-risk technology. The purpose of this report is to analyze possibilities and outline possible recommendation on strategies for XM Radio. The following areas will be examined:
The radio grew in popularity and was as successful as it was because it was able to reach all across the nation, helped the American people interpret the Great Depression, and was a universal place of communication and entertainment. Although the first radio-wave theorem was developed in 1864 by James Clerk Maxwell, it was not until the 1920s and 1930s that the device really gained popularity in the U.S. During the Great Depression, families, advertisers, and even politicians used the radio for purposes such as entertainment, news, and a forum to the American people.1
BSB made another mistake when they focused more on technology and not on customers and costumer needs. Data doesn’t give significant information that costumers wanted higher quality TV (comparing to existent BBC or ITV for instance) as BSB assumed, and therefore thought that having the 15-year franchise of the high-powered DBS channels, the other medium and low-powered were not a concern. Nevertheless, competitors had the capability to overcome the entry barriers. This could be made for example with Astra that would launch medium powered satellite in 1988, and so, before BSB planned to start broadcasting. With medium-powered satellites, Sky coul...
Given the amount of complaints filed by many Sirius XM consumers, it is fair to state that a majority, if not all, affected subscribers agree that Sirius XM’s actions fell under the umbrella of consumer fraud. Subscribers would also agree that the company’s actions were unethical, given the fact that they knowingly embezzled $3.8 billion from their customers (Hood, 2014). As for Sirius XM’s perspective, they knew their business practices were wrong, yet they continued to short their customers anyways. In cases where businesses commit consumer fraud, they often believe that it is worth shortening their customers in order to gain additional profit (Jacoby & Meyers, n.d.). This was exactly the case for Sirius XM. Rather than focusing on how they were harming their customers through the use of consumer fraud, the satellite-radio company realized how much additional profit they could potentially make. Even if Sirius XM attempted to argue that they did not know they were committing consumer fraud, it would be known that the company was lying. As any business, let alone a very large and well-known business, it would be very hard to embezzle billions of dollars from consumers without the workers of the company or the company as a whole knowing. With the amount of Sirius XM workers responsible for the company’s accounting, it is almost impossible that over 3 billion dollars was unknowingly gained as profit. Sirius XM obviously knew and planned to embezzle this money from their subscribers, regardless of whether they admitted their wrongs or attempted to claim the embezzlement was an accident. Due to the fact that Sirius XM purposefully committed this illegal crime and victimized their own consumers, it can easily be concluded that their actions were without a doubt
emerging or new market. It can originate from new technology or new market opportunities (Eliashberg, J., Lilien, G. L., & Rao, V. R. 1997). Literature defines product development as exploiting an untapped market opportunity and turning it into a value product for customer satisfaction. Development and introduction of a new product requires extensive research on understanding customer needs, market structure, emerging trends and analysing the internal & external competitive market environments. To evaluate customer satisfaction previous researches provide strong relationship between customer satisfaction and product quality, product features and value for money. ***
In 1921 the Detroit Michigan Police Department first used mobile radio in a vehicle. Digital wireless and cellular roots started in the 1940s. In the 1940s new frequencies between 30 and 40 MHz were available. There was an increase of availability in channels which police systems were encouraged to use. Mobile units were available within private companies, individuals, and public agencies. In St. Louis, 1945 the first mobile telephone system in the US was introduced. Along the highway between New York and Boston a Public mobile system carried greater frequency distance in 1947. In 1n 1949, the FFC authorized separate radio channels to common carriers. A new system was developed with automatic channel selection in 1964. With this new system each call allowed customers to dial for themselves and it eliminated the need to push-to-talk operation. In 1975, in Chicago, AT&T was authorized to develop a cellular system. After this AT&T and Bell labs work with other cellular vendors to develop their cellular phones. Their phones were made so consumers would have the quality products available to use on cellular networks. There are many reasons why the mobile wireless has not progressed further in the last 60 years, this is because of cautiousness and federal regulation. The Federal Communications Commission controlled frequency availability. Their regulations and unresponsiveness had the most significant factors hindering radiotelephone development. The Federal Communication Commission delayed the technology in America by ten years.
We intend to exploit our leadership role by continuing to target and enter segments of the communications market that we believe will experience rapid growth or grow faster than the industry as a whole....
"Short History of Radio A Short History of Radio With an Inside Focus on Mobile Radio." fcc.gov. Version 2003-2004. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. .
FM is since the frequency is varied, station takes up more room on the band.