Technology: Beam it Down, Scottie.(satellite radio)

Byline: Sandy Lawrence Edry (With Brad Stone)

In the United States, satellite radio has become the newest must-have entertainment gadget for the digerati, following right behind DVD and MP3 players. Now the rest of the world is starting to catch on. WorldSpace, the company that in 1990 first launched satellite radio--digital technology that delivers near-CD-quality, static-free audio and a signal that won't fade--is promoting the concept everywhere from Johannesburg to Jaipur.

In June the company introduced what it calls the first multinational satellite-radio subscription plan, available in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Western Europe. The package costs $10 per month and in its initial phase is targeted at Americans and British expats--as well as Coalition troops stationed in Iraq.

What does satellite radio get you? An audiophile's nirvana, it offers more than a hundred channels of high-quality digital music, sports, news and talk programming--mostly commercial-free, and recorded at the firms' own studios in Bangalore, Singapore, London and Johannesburg. Additionally, some regular networks, like Bloomberg, BBC, Fox News and Virgin Radio, are picked up and regional content is streamed down to a few of the larger markets. The content--from James Brown to retro Hindi soundtracks--is beamed up to orbiting satellites, then is broadcast back to receivers.

Meanwhile consumer-electronics companies continue to produce ever smaller, cheaper and more ...