Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said the U.S. is in a “revolutionary age of audio entertainment,” and that companies face a myriad of competition that didn’t exist only a few short years ago when his company and XM launched their satellites.

Currently both companies offer an all-or-nothing monthly subscription priced at $12.95, but recently announced, post-merger pricing plans range from $6.99 per month for 50 channels delivered by one service to $16.99 per month where a subscriber keeps one service and then picks additional channels from the other service.

The XM – Sirius merger is hardly a sure thing. Back when satellite radio was more idea than reality, both companies promised the FCC that a merger would not take place. Then there’s the National Association of Broadcasters, which calls the proposed merger a “government-sanctioned monopoly.”

NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said that policymakers “should not be hoodwinked” by Karmazin’s announcement and pointed out that in order to take advantage of à la carte pricing, current subscribers would have to purchase new radios because neither Sirius nor XM receivers are compatible with both services. Wharton also mentioned that both services were capable of offering their own channels on an à la carte basis but have not done so.

The suggested $6.99 per month-priced à la carte service would offer 50 stations from one service plus additional non-premium selections for 25 cents per. Premium programming, such as pro sports or Howard Stern, would cost $5 or more.

Other packages include a $14.99 per month à la carte subscription offering 100 channels, mostly from one service, family-friendly channel groupings priced at $11.95 per month and $14.95 per month, and music and news talk packages priced at $9.99.