Two lawmakers urge conditions on XM-Sirius deal

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission should impose conditions on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) proposed $3.95 billion acquisition of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc (XMSR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to protect consumers, two senior Democratic lawmakers said on Thursday.

Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Edward Markey, urged the FCC to take steps to protect consumers in connection with any decision to approve the merger.

Such steps should include allowing any manufacturer to sell consumers receivers that work with the merged company's satellite service, said Dingell and Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

The XM-Sirius deal has been cleared by antitrust officials at the U.S. Justice Department but still needs the approval of the FCC.

Representatives of XM and Sirius declined to comment.

But Paul Gallant, an analyst with Stanford Washington Research Group, said the lawmakers' letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin bodes well for the deal.

"It's a good thing when two of the most powerful House Democrats are only talking conditions and not rejection, as some others in Congress are doing," Gallant said.

Last month, a high-ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, urged the FCC to block the XM-Sirius combination entirely.