The design, and as a consequence the cost of a terrestrial and satellite sound broadcasting system, is strongly dependent on the factors affecting the propagation characteristics on, respectively, the terrestrial and space-to-Earth path to the vehicular receiver in particular, and generally, to a lesser extent, to the portable receiver. The propagation path is subject to attenuation by shadowing due to buildings, trees, and other foliage; and to multipath fading due to diffuse scattering from the ground and nearby obstacles such as trees and buildings. The degree of impairment to the received signal level depends on the operating frequency, the receiving antenna height, the elevation angle to the satellite, and the type of environment in which the receiver is operating: whether it is an open, rural, wooded or mountainous, suburban or dense urban environment.