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- Sirius Canada History-
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Sirius Canada at a Glance
Corporate headquarters: Markham, Ontario, CA
Date of launch: December 1, 2005
Satellites in service: 3
Available satellite radio channels:110
Monthly subscription cost:$14.99 CAD
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Sirius Canada is an
all digital satellite radio provider, currently broadcasting over
110 steaming satellite radio channels of music, news, talk and audio
entertainment from coast to coast in Canada.
Early History
The idea of receiving digital radio channels via satellite date back more than 2 decades. Until recently, however it was neither technologically feasible nor possible. In 1992 when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the "S" band (2.3 GHz) for nationwide broadcasting of satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS).
In 1997, two U.S. companies received licenses for digital satellite radio initiatives. These 2 pioneering companies were CD Radio (Now known as Sirius Satellite Radio) and American Mobile Radio (Now known as XM Satellite Radio). Sirius Radio was officially launched in the United States on July 1, 2002.
On June 16, 2005, Canadians also became a step closer to also being able to legally enjoy satellite radio services as Sirius Radio Canada was approved and licensed by the Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a satellite radio broadcasting undertaking in Canada. Sirius Radio Canada is a cooperative partnership between Canadian Broadcasting Corp.(CBC), Standard Radio Inc. and the U.S. Sirius Radio service. December 1, 2005 marked a broadcasting milestone as Sirius Radio Canada officially went on the air with a blend of American and Canadian satellite radio channels.
Technology
Sirius Canada is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Canada where it produces more than a dozen unique Canadian channels, which when mixed with 90+ U.S. channels from the U.S. Sirius Radio service creates a unique blend of programming. The U.S. Sirius Radio service is headquartered in New York City, in the Rockefeller Center and has an impressive recording studio on site with 33 seperate recording
areas and have a library of over 2 million music titles and
programs. Sirius Radio uses PAC encoding technology and digitizes
their signal, at near CD quality resulting in very
little loss of quality from the original source track.
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Sirius Radio programming is delivered to its subscribers via 3 high power, commercial satellites in an inclined elliptical orbit around the Earth. This unique orbit allows a somewhat larger signal footprint, extending well into Canada and Mexico.
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Satellite Technology
Sirius Radio utilizes 3 high power Loral SS/L-1300 commercial satellites to deliver its programming to subscribers. Unlike most other satellite radio and television broadcasters, which use satellites in a fixed, geo-stationary orbit 22 300 miles above the earth, Sirius Radio satellites use a unique inclined orbit that causes it to move along a longitudinal axis away from the equatorial plane of the Earth.
The Sirius Radio satellites have an average
elevation angle of about 60 degrees as opposed to approximately
45 degrees for geostationary satellites. This higher elevation
allows them clearer line of sight and fewer obstructions such as
buildings and trees. The 3 satellites slowly orbit the Earth
approximately 100 degrees apart and employ a "hand-off" method,
meaning that only 2 of the 3 satellites are active at any given
time to avoid interference as Sirius Radio is only allocated 2
different satellite frequencies. One of the satellites over the U.S. will
use frequency A and the other will use frequency B. As each one
of the satellites leave the footprint of the continental U.S.,
they revert into a standby mode and "hand-off" their signal to another satellite
which has become active and is just entering the footprint of
the continental U.S. Each of the 3 satellites spend approximately
16 hours over the continental United States, with at least one
satellite over the United States at any given time. Sirius also has a forth
redundant satellite on the ground ready to be launched in case
one of its three primary satellites should fail.
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The Sirius Radio Satellite Coverage Map or "satellite footprint" shows the Sirius coverage over North America and Central America.
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Satellite Coverage
The Sirius Radio satellites inclined orbit create a larger broadcasting footprint, causing a better coverage area in Canada and Mexico, as well as also extending its signal further up to 200 miles out from the western and eastern seaboards. Additionally, Sirius Radio also uses a number of land based
repeaters, located throughout the continental U.S., mostly in major cities that have
tunnels and large buildings that can block out satellite reception. By
default, your Sirius radio receiver will "listen" for the signal on the
satellite frequencies. If it is not able to receive them, it will automatically
switch to terrestrial mode and listen for the signal from a repeater. Once the
satellite signal has been re-established, it will switch back to satellite mode.
Reception Technology
The satellite radio signal is received by the customer using a small Sirius
antenna, similar to a GPS or satellite telephone antenna which
contain a number of omni directional arrays that collect the
signal and pass it to the receiver where it is amplified and
decoded.
Along with the satellite audio programming, Sirius also
broadcasts additional information to its subscribers, including
the song title, artist, and genre of music which is displayed on
the Sirius Radio display. Sirius has also hinted that streaming
video may also be available in the future. Currently Sirius is
broadcasting over 60 streams of commercial free music which cover
nearly every genre from Country to Classical. They also broadcast
40 streams of sports, news, talk and entertainment.
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Sirius Radio Satellite Radio Receiver.
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In order to receive Sirius Radio programming, you need an
Sirius Radio receiver, antenna and a subscription. Sirius Radio
receivers come either as a Sirius Ready Radios or Portable Sirius
Receivers. Sirius Ready Radios allow Sirius reception on quality
aftermarket CD and Cassette head units manufactured by Kenwood,
Clarion and Panasonic. Sirius modulated receivers are
manufactured by Kenwood, Clarion, Jensen, Audiovox and Panasonic
and allow Sirius reception on stock or existing radio receivers.
This is a good option if you do not want to alter your existing
stereo setup. Sirius also offers portable receivers by Kenwood
and Audiovox that allow you to move your Sirius Radio from the
car to home or from car to car. Sirius also offers a range of
antennas to suit your tastes as well.
In addition to the aftermarket industry, Sirius
equipped radios are coming standard in many new Chrysler, JEEP,
Dodge, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Volvo, Mazda, BMW, MINI,
Nissan, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Infiniti.
You won't usually have to worry about pointing your satellite
antenna as it will automatically aquire the satellite lock as
long as you have a clear view of the southern sky. The Sirius
signal is capable of penetrating some objects, such as some wood
roofs, however steel, concrete and abundance of trees can
interfere with the signal.
Sirius Canada Service
The basic Sirius Canada service is $14.99 CAD per month.
Once you have your Sirius Radio system installed and working,
you will be able to receive the preview channels. Tune to channel
184 and record your units ID number from the display. You will
need this to activate your Sirius service. You will also need a
Canadian mailing address and a credit card. You can activate your Sirius Canada service by calling
1-888-539-7474.
If you are a U.S. resident, you should visit the U.S. Sirius Radio Section for information on the U.S. Sirius Radio service.
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08/04/2008 11:20 AM
In order to give the website a better focus, we are phasing out the less popular areas of the site, including the high definition and digital video recorder areas and forums. This will leave the site focused on digital satellite television and satellite radio.
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