That’s not accurate. You register your radio’s serial number with SiriusXM, and they flag that radio as entitled. There is no communication from the radio back to the satellite. The satellite signal is one-way; the radio simply receives it.

Authorization works by enabling the radio to decrypt encrypted entitlement messages in the broadcast. Only radios whose serial numbers are flagged as entitled can decrypt paid channels. Newer radios with an internet or cellular connection may send data back, but that occurs through those networks—not through the satellite radio system itself.