The XM-Sirius merger saga wrapped up as we were closing this edition. While I’m sure that officials from the two satellite radio companies are relieved this chapter is over, this is just the beginning of the battle for survival for the new Sirius XM Radio Inc. While the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) fought a spirited delaying action against the deal, the fundamental basis for opposing the combination — that it creates a "satellite radio monopoly" — has no basis in reality.

I am a satisfied XM subscriber, but even though I’m paying for the service, I don’t listen to it 100 percent of the time. In the car I have access to terrestrial radio, CDs and an MP3 player. I have those same options at home as well as 92 music channels provided by my pay-TV service. And if the new Sirius XM Radio makes changes to its lineup or pricing that I don’t agree with, I’ll cancel my subscription without a second thought.

That sounds like a pretty weak monopoly, and I’m sure Sirius XM Radio realizes the absurdity of the label as well.

And if the satellite radio business is so good, why has no other group offered to buy any of the Sirius or XM infrastructure — or invest their own money in new satellites — to offer competition?

But while Sirus and XM provided the main talking point for this debate, the real consequences of satellite-terrestrial competition played out in Japan outside of the mainstream media spotlight.

Mobile Broadcasting Corp., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp., said it will stop its mobile digital satellite broadcasting business at the end of March. The service, launched in October 2004, provided eight video channels, 30 audio channels and data information services using S-band services provided by MBSat along with terrestrial repeaters. But after nearly four years, the numbers never reached a sufficient level for Toshiba, which cited growing demand for free terrestrial broadcasting services as its main problem.

I’m sure this news raised some eyebrows in the hallways of Eutelsat and SES, which announced in October 2006 plans to jointly develop a new mobile broadcasting system for Europe using a commercial S-band payload placed on the W2A satellite.

The NAB can continue to drop the phrase "satellite radio monopoly" as long as it wants, but that will not make it a reality. Sirius XM Radio does not have a monopoly, nor does any company that uses satellite technology to deliver direct-to-consumer services.