Long wait for satellite radio deal may end soon

Another likely factor in the delay, analysts said, is wrangling by the commissioners over which conditions to place on the deal. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin recommended last month the deal be approved, based partly on the companies' willingness to accept a three-year price freeze.

The companies also promised to set aside 24 channels, or 8 percent of capacity, for noncommercial and minority programming, and agreed to an "open radio" standard that allows other manufacturers to make compatible receivers.

Members of Congress have pushed for additional considerations. Last week, three Democratic senators urged Martin to require the companies to set aside at least 20 percent of their roughly 300 channels for noncommercial and minority stations, among other conditions. Five members of Congress from Minnesota sent a similar letter June 27.

But Paul Gallant, an analyst at the Stanford Financial Group, said the letters would likely have "minimal impact" at this late date.