The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to conduct investigations into the operations of each Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, the NAB announced.

In separate Oct. 23 letters to the FCC, the NAB called for the FCC to investigate the satellite radio companies’ use of terrestrial repeater networks and for a review of the regulatory status of the companies in light of recent promotional deals offered by Sirius and XM.

Terrestrial Repeater Issues

The NAB accuses XM and Sirius of “wanton disregard of the FCC’s rules” in their operation of terrestrial repeaters, which are used by the companies to boost their signals around metropolitan areas where satellite signals may be blocked by buildings and other obstructions, constructed and deployed inconsistently with FCC rules, the NAB said.

Both Sirius and XM filed Oct. 13 for special temporary authorizations (STAs) from the FCC to continue or resume operating terrestrial repeaters that violate these regulations, according to the letter signed by NAB President and CEO David Rehr. “These latest disclosures reveal a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC’s regulations,” he said.

“Although the specifics of Sirius and XM’s STA requests differ slightly, both requests are little more than transparent attempts to legitimize the continued or resumed unlawful operation of numerous repeaters,” Rehr claims. Among these violations are four repeaters operated by XM that were never authorized, that the company deployed 142 repeaters at locations not approved by the FCC and that 221 of XM’s repeaters have been operating at excess power levels.

The NAB cited Sirius for admitting that 10 of its repeaters are “at locations that differ slightly from the STA – more than half of them within two miles of their reported sites,” but the NAB acknowledged that “Sirius’ effort to minimize the significance of its transgressions is apparent.”

But the NAB also accused the two satellite radio companies of wording applications to minimize the significance of other potential misconduct. “NAB is particularly disturbed at Sirius and XM’s transparent attempts in the STA requests to downplay the seriousness of their non-compliance, as well as their audacity in asking for FCC approval to continue or resume operation of hundreds of repeaters that presumably have operated for years in violation of the FCC’s rules,” Rehr said. “Coming on the heels of both Sirius and XM’s continued failure to resolve interference to FM service caused by noncompliant radio devices already in circulation in the market, these latest disclosures reveal a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC’s regulations.”

The NAB is requesting that FCC defer action on the most recent STA requests and investigate Sirius’ and XM’s previous actions.

Subscription Or Free

Separately, NAB is calling for the FCC to investigate the “privileged regulatory position” used by satellite radio. The NAB claims that the satellite radio companies use their status as subscription services to avoid regulatory rules applied to free over-the-air radio broadcasts.

The NAB claims that recent moves by satellite radio to offer free trials of their services mean that “drawing a regulatory distinction between satellite and traditional broadcast radio simply because satellite radio content is available on a subscription basis may no longer be justified.” XM and Sirius both charge $12.99 per month for their service.

XM and Acura announced Oct. 11 that buyers of some certified pre-owned vehicles will receive three months of free service and no activation fee for factory-installed XM radios. Acura sells more than 35,000 previously-owned vehicles per year, with nearly a third featuring standard XM. Most previous XM deals with automakers have involved car buyers paying in advance for a service trial.

Sirius offered free access to Howard Stern’s show and 74 other channels to listeners via the Internet Oct. 25 and 26. The free trial was intended to stir interest in subscribers for the company’s Internet service.

The NAB wants the FCC to study whether these free trial offers render the distinction between subscription radio services and free radio offerings moot when it comes to “the unequal regulatory treatment of satellite and broadcast radio.”