A satellite broadcasts radio programs to mobile and fixed receivers at various locations. Ground stations supplement the satellite broadcasts in areas where the satellite signal may be shadowed. Likewise, the satellite signal supplements the terrestrial transmissions in areas with marginal terrestrial signal strength. Ground stations and a satellite transmit the same digital symbol stream over a same frequency spectrum. The symbol streams arrive in each service area of the ground stations with a relative delay that is within a window for which a receiver is adapted to decode efficiently. Spectral efficiency is achieved by allowing the ground stations to share the same frequencies as the satellites.
