Actually, on the iPhone they do show the network. I was on a ship last week and the banner read "cellular at sea".

The problem is that the transmitters have "excessive" power, and thereby leak into nearby receivers. Why NPR is involved is that most of the satellite to FM transmitters are, by default, tuned to the low-end of the radio spectrum, which by chance is where most NPR stations are located.

NPR has received a significant number of complaints regarding the broadcasting of "filthy language" on their stations, without the complainers realizing that it was from another vehicle.

As an FYI, I have a 20+ mile commute through a semi-rural part of Maryland on lightly congested roads, and my NPR signal gets interrupted by satellite and iPod transmitters a minimum of 5-6 times, sometimes for 5 seconds as a car passes in the other direction, or the entire trip if it's the car behind me.

The amusing part of this is connecting people to their music, e.g., the burly construction worker listening to broadway musicals, or the soccer mom in her minivan listening to hard-core rap.