Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
The sats already exist, so it seems the best plan would be to take subscribers until they malfunction. Kind of like a nuke plant, the expensive part is building it in the first place, and it's super cheap to operate afterwards.
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Sirius and XM operated on different and noncompatible hardware when the two companies merged. After the merger the combined company switched all new customers to the XM hardware and the last Sirius hardware was sold way back in 2009. However, as part of the deal to approve the merger of the only two satellite radio companies into one was the requirement that the legacy service operate for 20 years.
Yes, the satellites exist and Sirius XM owns the spectrum they operate on. Those are valuable assets and it makes no sense to use them for a tiny and dwindling customer base of Sirius satellite radio customers. The spectrum alone is worth about $5 billion. Come 2027 it can be repurposed or sold.