According to the worldspace website

"WorldSpace began with the vision of using direct audio broadcast via satellite to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa, but that horizon quickly expanded. Clearly the WorldSpace system could be a powerful tool for spreading knowledge for the sake of making people healthier, better educated and more aware of the precious environment in which they live. In addition to making countless millions more productive on farms, and in factories and offices, WorldSpace can bring to these people the gifts of the best music and literature of their native cultures along with those from the great cultures of faraway lands."Powerful L-band satellites with travelling wave tube amplifiers and onboard baseband processors link with receivers that are equipped with micro-integrated circuits capable of processing the satellites' high-quality audio and data transmissions. Each satellite has three beams with each beam capable of delivering 40+ channels of crystal clear audio programming. Broadcasters and organisations uplink their content through a centralised hub site or an individual feeder link station. The satellite transmits the signal received from the respective uplink stations in all or any combination of the three downlink beams of each satellite.

All good, worthy stuff, but does the programming reflect this vision?

It seems that commercial reality has hit home somewhere, because lots and lots of music stations, superpower broadcasters and data transmissions are taking up the capacity. This is good news for rich Europeans and affluent Africans, but where does that leave the poor subsistence farmer in Burkina Faso? Let's face it, he's hardly likely to be able to afford a Worldspace receiver; which, of course, explains the programme content.

For a European, the roster of stations is a little limited when compared with what's available on conventional digital satellites, but try taking your home satellite system to the beach, or on a business trip, or sailing, or anywhere away from home and the advantages are pretty obvious.