On top of the other legal troubles that XM is having with the RIAA, they are also having a tough time with the FCC. Recently, XM has suspended shipments of two digital radios and other XM devices, due to violations of transmission standards that are set and enforced by the FCC. The FCC's standards are designed to protect health as well as impose artificial limitations on equipment for reservation, and in this case XM's violations were only part of the latter, and do not pose a health risk. The particular problem is the FM transmitter on these devices, which broadcasts either too much power or at the wrong frequencies. XM's solution is to temporarily suspend distribution of these devices, and work on a firmware workaround that will let vendors update their already purchased equipment. XM doesn't sound too hopeful about the changes, however:
"We can provide no assurances at this time that our actions will be deemed sufficient by the FCC, or that other remedies that may be required by the FCC will not have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position," XM told the SEC.
An interesting position to take when you're already in hot water.