XM and Sirius to merge...does that mean that our monthly rates will be going up through reduced competition?

Answer 1

That prospect is certainly a concern of regulators and Congress as they look into this merger. Only one satellite radio operator looks suspiciously like a monopoly, which means they could raise their rates at will w/o regulatory oversight.

The odds for merger are not in XM/Sirius favor anyway since the FCC may apply their theory for rejecting the DirecTV/EchoStar (Dish Network) merger of a few years back: lack of competition in the satellite media. XM/Sirius contends that they have to compete against other broadcast radio options such as regular radio and HD radio, but that argument may not hold water.