C/Net reports the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio may have sailed through a U.S. Department of Justice review without conditions, but key congressional Democrats are urging the Federal Communications Commission to impose limits designed to protect consumers.
In a letter on Thursday (PDF), Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairmen of two House of Representatives panels that oversee the FCC, said they’re not taking a position on whether the FCC should clear the deal, but they believe the regulators should consider certain steps to satisfy the “public interest.”
Those include:
- Pricing constraints, to ensure that a combined entity does not take advantage of consumers by leveraging its position as sole provider of satellite radio services by raising prices.
- Permit any device manufacturer to develop equipment that can deliver the company’s satellite radio service. This principle of openness would serve to promote competition, protect consumers, and spur technological innovation.
Attorneys general from 11 states have made similar recommendations. In their effort to win over regulators last year, the two companies unveiled plans to offer new packages of channels at reduced rates and committed, at least informally, to not raise their monthly subscription fees.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said in late March that the agency is inching closer to a decision on whether the deal passes muster.
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