Emergency Information on XM Nationwide Public Safety Channel

[4phun]

This is an interesting announcement from XM with a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane bearing down on the USA today! Those who have XM can check this out this weekend.

I love XM; it gets better every time I turn around! - Vic

XM to Provide Emergency Information on New Public Safety Channel

http://prn.newscom.com/cgi-bin/membe...&logo=logo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 -- XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR - News), the nation's leading provider of satellite radio with more than 2.1 million subscribers, announced that it has launched a new channel, XM Emergency Alert (XM Channel 247), dedicated to providing critical, updated information before, during and after natural disasters, weather emergencies and other hazardous incidents to listeners across the country.


Utilizing XM's nationwide broadcast system, the new XM Emergency Alert channel delivers key survival information such as evacuation routes, shelter locations and updated weather emergency information for impacted areas. XM Emergency Alert provides data from a variety of national and local government sources, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American Red Cross, local police and fire departments and eyewitness reports. The XM Emergency Alert channel is produced by a dedicated staff for instant, around the clock information during serious local emergencies.

"We are pleased to add XM Emergency Alert to our line up, especially during this extremely active hurricane season when the benefits of updated emergency information can make a difference," said Hugh Panero, President and CEO of XM Satellite Radio. "XM Emergency Alert combined can be an invaluable resource during an emergency. We're using advanced technology to give listeners the information they need, when they need it, particularly when local television and radio broadcasts may not be available. With XM Emergency Alert, you can stay informed and stay safe."

XM already offers the XM Instant Traffic and Weather service which exclusively provides:

• * 21 channels of traffic and weather information about the nation's most
  traffic-congested metropolitan areas
  
  * 24-hour, seven-day-a-week reports for each market, offering in-depth,
  continually updated information
  
  * Travel times for major roadways, provided by Traffic Pulse(R) technology
  on the ground in local markets
  
  * Average speeds for major roadways, provided by Traffic Pulse(R)
  technology on the ground in local markets
  
  * Amber Alerts and other important public safety and homeland security
  notifications on the air and displayed in text form on the radio display
  

Twenty-one traffic and weather channels are available to XM subscribers nationwide including: Atlanta, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Diego, Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Boston, Dallas- Ft. Worth, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Orlando, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

XM Instant Traffic & Weather channels are part of XM's critically- acclaimed programming line-up, which offers more than 130 digital radio channels of commercial-free music and premier news, talk, sports, and entertainment for a monthly fee of $9.99. XM's traffic and weather reports are broadcast nationally and available to all XM subscribers at no additional cost.

About XM Satellite Radio

XM is America's #1 satellite radio service with more than 2.1 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City and Nashville, Tennessee at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2004 lineup includes more than 130 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: 68 one-hundred-percent commercial-free music channels, featuring hip hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues; 34 channels of premier sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and 21 channels of the most advanced traffic and weather information for major metropolitan areas nationwide.

[DaveNF2G]

Coupla problems with the poll:

1) The thread title has very little to do with the poll question.

2) Not enough response categories for valid sampling. What about a simple "NO" category? It does not follow that someone who has tried neither XM nor Sirius is unaware of satellite radio.

[4phun]

You are right.
I can not delete the poll which has the faults you mentioned.

[K5MAR]

Originally Posted by DaveNF2G

Coupla problems with the poll:

1) The thread title has very little to do with the poll question.

2) Not enough response categories for valid sampling. What about a simple "NO" category? It does not follow that someone who has tried neither XM nor Sirius is unaware of satellite radio.

Agreed.

Mark S.

[thumbtrap]

Or just "No, I refuse to pay to listen to the stinking radio."

[BobWeb]

Or, "I don't bother to listen to the radio since I have my scanner."

Maybe even, "I listen to CD's instead of the radio, but only when I forget my scanner."

[Pro-95]

Originally Posted by BobWeb

Or, "I don't bother to listen to the radio since I have my scanner."

Since I've had my scanner I don't listen to the "radio" anymore. Especially considering most "radio" is talk anymore anyways, might as well just listen to talk, without commercials.

[4phun]

Looking at these replies indicates few know that SATELLITE RADIO is radio without the commercials, a key reason for buying it. Another is that you have the effect of unlimited CD's especially with the more popular XM which plays all kind of stuff without repetition.

You cannot follow a storm that is four hundred miles away and coming at you on a scanner. With satellite, you can listen to the traffic weather channels and follow all kinds of neat stuff in real time. Now with the new EMERGENCY channel you can plug into even more of that kind of stuff.

Top that off with the fact that virtually every cable TV news channel can also be heard while mobile gives you another big conduit of information in real time. I was in an area at 5:15 AM the other day where the scanner was just about dead because of the low population in the area when I happened to hear the events in Russia live as the rescue attack on the school began with gunfire and explosions. CNN doubled their main channel with two live feeds from Russia! This was all crystal clear in an area where domestic radio stations were not even on the air except for those static and commercial filled AM ‘clear channel’ stations.
You cannot hear breaking news live on the other side of the planet on any vhf/uhf scanner in the area I was in.

Each radio has its place and satellite radio clearly is much better than over the air local radio.

[thumbtrap]

I know exactly what it is. It doesn't seem to enter your imagination that someone could be informed and still not care about the product you're hawking in this "poll".

[K5MAR]

Originally Posted by thumbtrap

I know exactly what it is. It doesn't seem to enter your imagination that someone could be informed and still not care about the product you're hawking in this "poll".

Agreed! This is starting to look like an advert for sat. radio, rather than a discussion and "poll".

What you don't seem to understand is many of us don't care about sat. radio, and don't feel the desire to pay for a service we aren't interested in and won't use.

I can get all the information I need when mobile via my scanner, emergency management and media 2-way radios, and NOAA WX (All Hazards) radio. Oh, and my wireless Internet connection on my laptop, when needed.

Mark S.