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). ...