Constituents' E-Mail on XM Deal Not Well Received

XM and Sirius are not so certain. "The timing and pattern of delivery of these comments is highly unusual and suspicious," said Kelly Sullivan, a spokeswoman for both companies. "The letters lack any apparent common tie or indication of the source of the effort, all of which calls into question the legitimacy of the filings."

The FCC declined to comment.

The FCC and Justice Department are reviewing the XM-Sirius deal, with a decision expected soon. Either agency could move to block the proposed stock swap if it thinks the consolidation would violate anti-monopoly laws or harm consumers.

XM and Sirius contend that a merged company would help consumers by providing them more services and would not constitute a monopoly because of the proliferation of ways people get their audio entertainment these days.

The broadcasters, who represent free radio services such as AM and FM, do not want a stronger competitor. They claim that the merger would lead to higher prices for listeners, and thus hurt consumers, and would also violate antitrust agreements established by the government when the subscription services were founded not long ago.

The dispute has ignited massive lobbying by both sides, including the broadcasters' effort to attract e-mailers. The electronic letters the broadcasters helped to send were addressed to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin and urged the agency to reject the merger.

Wharton said the e-mails were sent to the FCC after people clicked on an ad with the headline, "The XM Radio/Sirius Merger will create higher prices. Stop the Monopoly!" The ad invited users to choose either, "Yes, I'd like to help stop the monopoly" or "No, thank you."

Those who clicked "yes" were asked to type in their contact information and later received a confirmation e-mail "detailing their action and providing a copy of the letter to be sent to the FCC," Wharton said. Respondents were then given "another opportunity to opt out of the process and cancel submission of their letter," he added.

Nevertheless, none of the people contacted by The Post whose names reached the FCC remembered going through that process. All but one said they had not agreed to send any e-mails at all.

"No sir, I never sent any notes to Washington," said William Chadwick, a retired truck driver from Lebanon Junction, Ky., whose name is attached to one of the messages that reached the FCC. "This call is the first time I've heard of this."

"I never sent an e-mail," said Frank Dashields, a Salisbury, Md., building-services manager. "I don't even know about the issue."

"I don't know what the merger is about and I don't care," said Tom Biniecki, a retired steel worker from Winamac, Ind. "I have no idea what you're talking about."