XM Canada Just Got a Lot More Expensive

If this is a side effect (or a direct effect) of the XM/Sirius merger, consumers have very little to look forward to. The base price for XM Satellite Radio in Canada seems to be holding steady for the time being, but they’re hiking up the rates from the internet side of things from the current zero dollars to a hefty fee of ten bucks a month. Right now, if you subscribe to XM Canada, you can access your subscription and listen to that commercial-free radio absolutely free via the interweb.

Starting September 1st, XM Radio Online (XMRO) will cost new Canadian subscribers an additional $9.99 per month. Current customers will have to pony up an extra buck, but their fees will ramp up to the $10 mark as well when September 2008 rolls around. This is, of course, on top of the regular satellite radio subscription fee. No word on whether a similar change will happen in the States, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it happened.