Vision FM
Encyclopedia
Vision Radio Network is a Christian
media ministry of United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd to the people of Australia. UCB Australia's motto is "Connecting Faith to Life" and the radio network is a means to that end. It aims to make Christian Radio
available for every Australia
n. As at the close of 2010, Vision operated on over 460 licences, the majority being low powered FM services reaching into suburban areas of large cities plus many small country towns. It also broadcast on 9 higher powered services including Western Melbourne and Adelaide on 1611 AM.
, Brisbane
on the 1st February 1999. A few years later Vision Radio Network moved into larger premises in nearby Underwood to better provide a 24 hour 7 day broadcast to relay stations
across the nation, plus listeners on the Internet and via satellite.
UCB Australia was able to acquire around 500 high and low powered open narrowcast licenses and quickly set up a national network of relay stations to meet the needs of listeners all over the country. Vision Radio Network reaches listeners in places ranging from Australia's larger cities to regional centres and tiny isolated towns in the bush
. Many small to medium sized country towns in Australia have benefited from the cost-effective approach of using low powered FM transmitters. Although typically only one to ten watts, they usually give quite adequate residential coverage in small towns, depending on the antenna height above local terrain. The setup cost is achievable for most communities. The ongoing cost is minimal due to low maintenance equipment with low power consumption - some stations in remtore areas even use solar power.
During 2003 UCB had opportunity to secure its first high powered open narrowcast licences.
The network quickly reached 150 relay stations by the end of 2003.In the following year its first foray into AM radio sites in Shepparton
, Bunbury
and Kalgoorlie
began. Just prior to Christmas 2004 a further 17 High Powered licences were secured to be on air the following year.
Vision's 200th relay station was powered up on Australia Day
2005 at the Central Australian town of Yulara - right next to Uluru
(Ayers Rock). Yarrawonga in Victoria had the honour of station number 300 in late 2007 and a significant development occurred in late 2008 with the acquisition of a medium powered AM service in Melbourne (1611AM). Throughout 2009 and 2010 Vision has continued to expand its reach with, on average, a new station every week. Station number 400 went to air late in 2009 at Lockhart in NSW.
Vision's catchcry is "Connecting Faith to Life" and does this through talk and music programming aimed at "unpacking" what it means to follow Jesus Christ in an understandable way.
Vision has several sister ministry arms (all operated by UCB Australia), including Australia's most popular daily devotionals "The Word for Today" and "word4U2day", a prayer ministry "PrayForMe", and teaching resources ministry "UCB Direct".
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
media ministry of United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd to the people of Australia. UCB Australia's motto is "Connecting Faith to Life" and the radio network is a means to that end. It aims to make Christian Radio
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...
available for every Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n. As at the close of 2010, Vision operated on over 460 licences, the majority being low powered FM services reaching into suburban areas of large cities plus many small country towns. It also broadcast on 9 higher powered services including Western Melbourne and Adelaide on 1611 AM.
History
Vision began broadcasting from small studios in SpringwoodSpringwood, Queensland
Springwood is a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia. The size of Springwood is approximately 6 km². It has 17 parks covering nearly 9% of the total area. The population of Springwood in 1996 was 9,738 people. By 2001 the population was 9,084 showing a population decline of 7% in the...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
on the 1st February 1999. A few years later Vision Radio Network moved into larger premises in nearby Underwood to better provide a 24 hour 7 day broadcast to relay stations
Radio relay
Radio stations that cannot communicate directly due to distance, terrain or other difficulties sometimes use an intermediate radio relay station to relay the signals. Examples include airborne radio relay, microwave radio relay, and communications satellite...
across the nation, plus listeners on the Internet and via satellite.
UCB Australia was able to acquire around 500 high and low powered open narrowcast licenses and quickly set up a national network of relay stations to meet the needs of listeners all over the country. Vision Radio Network reaches listeners in places ranging from Australia's larger cities to regional centres and tiny isolated towns in the bush
The Bush
"The bush" is a term used for rural, undeveloped land or country areas in certain countries.-Australia:The term is iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" describes a wooded area, intermediate between a shrubland and a forest, generally of dry and nitrogen-poor soil, mostly...
. Many small to medium sized country towns in Australia have benefited from the cost-effective approach of using low powered FM transmitters. Although typically only one to ten watts, they usually give quite adequate residential coverage in small towns, depending on the antenna height above local terrain. The setup cost is achievable for most communities. The ongoing cost is minimal due to low maintenance equipment with low power consumption - some stations in remtore areas even use solar power.
Expansion
In the twelve months following March 2001 a rapid expansion began, seeing the number of on-air relay stations triple from around 30 to 90. Also in April 2001, UCB Australia introduced Australia's first nation-wide news service from a Christian perspective - UCB News. UCB News is heard across the Vision Radio Network, as well as being accessed by a growing number of community stations who don't have the resources to produce their own news content.During 2003 UCB had opportunity to secure its first high powered open narrowcast licences.
The network quickly reached 150 relay stations by the end of 2003.In the following year its first foray into AM radio sites in Shepparton
Shepparton, Victoria
Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
, Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
and Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
began. Just prior to Christmas 2004 a further 17 High Powered licences were secured to be on air the following year.
Vision's 200th relay station was powered up on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
2005 at the Central Australian town of Yulara - right next to Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
(Ayers Rock). Yarrawonga in Victoria had the honour of station number 300 in late 2007 and a significant development occurred in late 2008 with the acquisition of a medium powered AM service in Melbourne (1611AM). Throughout 2009 and 2010 Vision has continued to expand its reach with, on average, a new station every week. Station number 400 went to air late in 2009 at Lockhart in NSW.
Vision's catchcry is "Connecting Faith to Life" and does this through talk and music programming aimed at "unpacking" what it means to follow Jesus Christ in an understandable way.
Vision has several sister ministry arms (all operated by UCB Australia), including Australia's most popular daily devotionals "The Word for Today" and "word4U2day", a prayer ministry "PrayForMe", and teaching resources ministry "UCB Direct".