Satellite Music Channels Head Further Out to Sea

Satellite music channels are starting to reach deeper into the boating market. One can now find cruise ships that offer stern to bow satellite radio. And with the music comes weather data that streams into navigation display systems. One of the reasons is that Sirius XM Radio (New York City, New York, Nasdaq: SIRI), one of the major satellite music companies, offers satellite-based weather imaging data services.

It is still difficult to find satellite radio in the midst of the ocean. In the United States and Canada, Sirius is one of the major consumer weather data and music service satellite providers. In Europe, Africa and India, Worldspace (Silver Spring, Maryland), now 1Worldspace, is one of most well known satellite music service providers. But, it has had problems. It discontinued service to India, leaving many without music. Their reason for doing so is still a matter of speculation. Some report that it’s a result of trade restrictions and others say that it’s a result of Worldspace’s financial problems.

Sirius, because of a large loan from Liberty Media Corp. (Englewood, CO, Nasdaq: LCAPA) is still expected to go further into new markets. Furthermore, because of a less than stellar United States satellite radio automotive market, it’s likely that Sirius will look more closely at any ocean breeze that will keep it sailing ahead. And Sirius weather imaging data service for marine applications appears to be that breeze–the breeze that will gently push Sirius into the emerging oceanic information market.

This all means that boat owners in the United States probably won’t lose their weather and music services. And it also probably means that if Sirius plays its cards right, it could put itself in a position to help connect the emerging oceanic networks; networks that are eventually expected to be buoyed by, of all things, the buoy.

Buoy-based sensor networks are springing up like water lilies throughout the world’s oceans. There, they are used to collect a diverse and ever changing sea of data, eventually giving scientists the ability to create real-time models of every aspect of the oceans’ behavior and composition; all of which is to be used in applications including alternative ocean energy, global warming, mineral exploration, localized navigation and resource analysis.

All this data the buoys collect is of interest and importance not only to the governments that collect it, but by the general public, environmentalists and a growing number of industries. Businesses see oceanic information as the basis for new information based products. That’s because the massive amount of sea data will be necessary to further the development of communication, energy and navigation systems and such data will be necessary to help the world cope with a land-based world that is already resource-strained with a climate that may, without notice, suddenly change for the worse.

It is natural to expect that Sirius will become more exposed to this incoming wave of information as it markets and sells to the boating market. The only question is whether it will respond to the other aspects of oceanic information beyond weather data. One would have to wonder if it has the will, desire and creativity to cater to the oceanic information needs of a wide and diverse range of ocean-based industries.

Ultimately though, establishing and tying the world’s network of buoys and satellites together and then integrating the collected data into an accessible and useable body of information in one communication system will be no easy task. However, Sirius with its knowledge of the international communication laws that govern space should already be well equipped to deal with the international communication laws that govern the sea.