WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2003) — The words should ring bell-clear to truckers tired of fading radio signals, banal talk-show banter, and waaay to much Avril Lavigne: a group led by Toronto entrepreneur John Bitove, Jr., plans to launch a Canadian joint venture with XM Satellite Radio Holdings of Washington, D.C.

The new company, called Canadian Satellite Radio, will file an application for a broadcast licence to the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission this fall, Today’s Trucking has learned. A regulatory hearing from the CRTC could happen as soon as early next year.

If the licence is approved, XM would begin taking Canadian subscribers next spring, said XM Radio spokesman Chance Patterson.

Currently, XM is only licensed to provide service to the United States. Canadians who subscribe to satellite radio service from XM or its rival, Sirius, are doing so illegally.

“Coming to Canada is a natural opportunity to expand our subscriber base,” Patterson said. While XM will face questions from the CRTC about its ability to provide Canadian content, the company would require little in the way of new infrastructure: its satellite signal already reaches into the most heavily travelled and populated areas of Canada, along the border.

Currently, XM boasts almost 700,000 subscribers, many of whom receive the service automatically when they buy a General Motors car. Most others pay $9.99 US a month.

What they receive is 100 channels of distinctive programming — 70 music stations, 30 talk, much of it presented with little or no advertising. One 24-hour channel, “Open Road,” caters to truckers, with late-night stalwarts like Dale Sommers (“The Truckin’ Bozo”), Midnight Cowboy Bill Mack, and Dave Nemo. The sound is CD-quality and the signal is unwavering most places you go, from one end of the United States to the other.

The problem for XM and Sirius is that the satellites, the programming, and studio real estate cost money. Combined, XM and Sirius are heavily leveraged, having spent more than $2 billion US since their start nearly five years ago. Much of the money was raised from ebullient investors during the madcap 1990s.

Patterson said acceptance will continue to grow as the hardware for satellite radio becomes more readily available and affordable. The units are common in truck stops, some retailing for as little as $120 US.