Delphi is working to make this possible by developing receivers, antennae and control units. Music, news, sports and other radio programming will go from earthbound studios to satellites, which will then transmit to receivers at home and in the car. The two competing broadcasters leading the programming charge, XM and Sirius, plan to offer about 50 channels of news, weather, sports and talk programming, and about 50 channels of music. Add to that the challenge of building a compact receiver capable of amplifying as many as three signals at once to provide the best reception possible, and allow for decoding of information such as the artist and song title, then convey that to the driver via a standard radio-type display. Delphi's receiver, about the size of a videotape, will typically be mounted in the rear of a vehicle, and it will be operated by a controller that will let the driver navigate those 100 channels of sound while keeping his or her eyes on the road.
Signal interference is another concern.
For example, microwave ovens emit electronic noise' and act like 1,400-watt transmitters. This noise can interfere with the satellite signal. We're confident that our hard work will pay off when we're recognized as one of the companies with the technology that revolutionized radio.