Satellite Radio

I bought my wife a new car a few years ago and it came with satellite radio. We had the service free for a year and really liked it. We opted to continue the service. With the ubiquity of the Internet, I am beginning to wonder if the days of satellite radio are numbered. Why limit yourself to someone else's music tastes when you can customize your listening preferences with streaming music like Pandora or Spotify?

My wife's car is a bit special in that it is a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. That means it is meant for going off road and we do so often. We visit some places so far from civilization, there is no mobile phone service nor Internet. In those cases, satellite radio wins out over streaming music.

Recently I did a road trip from Utah to California and I took Interstate 80 the whole distance. Mobile phone service providers have ensured that Internet service is available the entire way. While I opted to listen to a book on CD, I also could have streamed music on one of my phones. In that case, streaming music wins over satellite radio.

It is also important to point out that the two services are not mutually exclusive. Both can co-exist nicely. However if you have a smartphone and unlimited streaming data, it might not make sense to pay extra for satellite radio. It is that case that has me worried about satellite radio's future. If anyone disagrees, feel free to let me know.