Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a broadcasting-satellite service. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than terrestrial radio stations, and the service is primarily intended for the occupants of motor vehicles. It is available by subscription, mostly commercial free, and offers subscribers more stations and a wider variety of programming options than terrestrial radio.

Satellite radio technology was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2002. Satellite radio uses the 2.3 GHz S band in North America for nationwide digital radio broadcasting. In other parts of the world, satellite radio uses the 1.4 GHz L band formerly allocated for DAB.

The first satellite radio broadcasts occurred in Africa and the Middle East in 1999. The first US broadcasts were in 2001 followed by Japan in 2004 and Canada in 2005.

There have been three (not counting MobaHo! of Japan) major satellite radio companies: WorldSpace, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, all founded in the 1990s in the United States. WorldSpace operated in the Africa and Asia region, whereas Sirius and XM competed in the North American (USA and Canada) market. Of the three companies, WorldSpace went bankrupt in 2009 and Sirius and XM merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. The merger was done to avoid bankruptcy. The new company had financial problems and was within days of bankruptcy in 2009, but was able to find investors. The company did not go bankrupt and Sirius XM Satellite radio continues (as of 2025^[update]) to operate.

WorldSpace was founded by Ethiopia-born lawyer Noah Samara in Washington, D.C., in 1990, with the goal of making satellite radio programming available to the developing world. On June 22, 1991, the FCC gave WorldSpace permission to launch a satellite to provide digital programming to Africa and the Middle East. WorldSpace first began broadcasting satellite radio on October 1, 1999, in Africa. India would ultimately account for over 90% of WorldSpace's subscriber base. In 2008, WorldSpace announced plans to enter Europe, but those plans were set aside when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2008. In March 2010, the company announced it would be de-commissioning its two satellites (one served Asia, the other served Africa). Liberty Media, which owns 50% of Sirius XM Radio, had considered purchasing WorldSpace's assets, but talks between the companies collapsed. The satellites are now transmitting educational data and operate under the name of Yazmi USA, LLC.

Ondas Media was a Spanish company which had proposed to launch a subscription-based satellite radio system to serve Spain and much of Western Europe, but failed to acquire licenses throughout Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Onde Numérique was a French company which had proposed to launch a subscription-based satellite radio system to serve France and several other countries in Western Europe but has suspended its plans indefinitely, effective December, 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Sirius Satellite Radio was founded by Martine Rothblatt, who served as the new company's Chairman of the Board. Co-founder David Margolese served as Chief Executive Officer with former NASA engineer Robert Briskman serving as President and Chief Operating Officer. In June 1990, Rothblatt's shell company, Satellite CD Radio, Inc., petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assign new frequencies for satellites to broadcast digital sound to homes and cars. The company identified and argued in favor of the use of the S-band frequencies that the FCC subsequently decided to allocate to digital audio broadcasting. The National Association of Broadcasters contended that satellite radio would harm local radio stations.