Satellite radio companies Sirius and XM Radio have decided to merge, and I think that’s a good thing. Of course, traditional radio broadcasters, the NAB, and their lobbyists think that the merger means that there will be a satellite radio “monopoly”. Congress has been holding hearings and holding up the merger, thanks to all the radio lobbyists.

Fortunately now it’s time for the public to weigh in on this. The FCC said that it is opening up public comments on the merger. You can submit comments electronically, or through snail mail.

I’m a Sirius subscriber and I frankly don’t think there’s a big deal about this merger. If Sirius and XM merge will the price go up? It’s possible. But I already invested money in paying for the hardware, and pay a monthly fee, so I’m ok if prices go up. Some have said that the companies may even introduce tiered pricing. If so, that’s definitely a vote yes for the merger.

When the satellite companies were formed, the bandwidth was split between the two companies. If they merge, they can combine that bandwidth and deliver lots of next-gen media services.

Don’t make the mistake of being short-sighted about the XM-Sirius deal. For now, satellite radio is all that’s at stake. But with a combined company, and a full satellite spectrum, the combined company can roll out additional services such as: TV/video, mapping and GPS. Maybe in the future, that means Internet access. Audio is just one piece of the pie. Wouldn’t you like to have one device in your car that delivers TV, radio, GPS and more?

Plus don’t forget that XM and Sirius also have web sites where subscribers can listen over the Internet too.

Radio stations are scared. They don’t want more competition. Research company eMarketer announced recently that online advertising will surpass radio advertising revenues by 2008.

They are trying anything to get this deal stopped.

In fact, the head of the NAB just sent the CEO of Sirius a letter saying to back off the merger.

Well, I guess it’s worth a try.