FAQ: All about NEXUS-International Broadcasting Association (NEXUS-IBA)

1. Who are you, what does your organisation do?

NEXUS-IBA is a nonprofit organisation operating since 1979 under the name of IRRS (the “Italian Radio Relay Service”), officially founded as NEXUS-IBA in 1990, assisting program producers and broadcasters who have difficulty hearing their “message” or program worldwide.

We are strictly nonprofit and non-commercial. We are 100% members and listeners supported and currently receive no monetary grant from any political, religious, government or private person or organisation. In doing so, we are a 100% free organisation with no political or religious ties.

2. Are you related to metro, buses, ticketing, sexual abuse counselling, training courses for counsellors, and cryptocurrencies?

NO! If you are looking for metro, buses, UK travel, tickets, counselling for sexual abuse, training courses for counsellors or information on cryptocurrencies, you are definitely on the WRONG website.

Although we were founded in 1988, other companies started using the term ‘NEXUS’ as a product, service or company name elsewhere in the world. They may call themselves ‘NEXUS’ or a variation thereof, but we are not affiliated or related to them. Please search again on your favourite search engine.

This is the “NEXUS-International Broadcasting Association” website. We provide media and broadcasting services worldwide.

3. I want more information on NEXUS-IBA

You may browse this FAQ page or our NEXUS.org and European Gospel Radio websites. If you still have some unanswered questions, please use the chat form on the bottom right or contact us online or call any of the numbers listed in our contact form. One of our representatives will answer your call 24/7, and someone in charge will call or email you back, usually within 24 hours. You may also schedule a free 15-minute consultation on our homepage.

4. How does NEXUS-IBA work, and how much do your services cost?

NEXUS-IBA will assist any station, program, content or media provider to find the most cost-effective way to reach their desired audience worldwide. NEXUS-IBA is non-commercial. We sell no service, equipment, or software (we do not sell anything at a price). Still, we will recommend and assist you in broadcasting your programs or podcasts online, on radio, TV or satellite. At certain times, we receive donations that may enable us to offer some free-of-charge airtime on our network, usually on a random or minimal-time basis. We very much welcome your contributions and financial support. However, given our minimal funds at this moment, the availability of free-of-charge airtime to third parties on our stations or live Internet streams is usually an exception.

5. How do I broadcast live?

You can broadcast live by connecting your live audio stream (usually from your home, studio, Church or office) to an audio or streaming server. We then take your audio or video stream and re-broadcast (or relay) it on any other channel on our network. However, sometimes small organisations do not have the resources to operate live 24/7. For this reason, you can also manage simulated live broadcasts using our software or any other commercial software that can produce a live stream to a streaming server. NEXUS-IBA will assist you in making this decision and help you create a live 24/7 stream for your station or re-broadcast any of your programs on any of the Association’s live streaming, radio or TV channels.

6. How to listen to our broadcasts?

Many of our channels are private, created and operated with content from our member stations and available only on our members’ websites. NEXUS-IBA uses at least two main (public) online streaming channels, namely IRN (Internet Radio NEXUS: 24/7 news and information about culture, human rights, world politics, science and religion) and All Gospel Radio (24/7 Christian programs and news).

You can also check our online schedules for the exact times and frequencies of our Shortwave and AM/MediumWave broadcasts beamed to various regions worldwide.

7. How can I receive stations using my old heavy-duty class shortwave radio receiver, not via the web or PC on the  Internet?

You came to the right place. NEXUS-IBA broadcasts daily on Shortwave using high-power transmitters (150-300 kW). Our broadcasts can be heard almost anywhere globally, depending on propagation conditions, antenna beams, time and frequency. Check our schedules for times, frequencies and target areas. Reception on Shortwave – especially at night -can be possible several thousand kilometres outside our main target areas.

8. I run a “pirate” radio station. Can you help me turn my broadcast “legal”?

NEXUS-IBA does not support or recommend pirate radio broadcasting. Pirate radio or unlicensed broadcasting is illegal in most countries. Therefore, we cannot assist anyone in setting up a pirate, unauthorised or illegal radio or TV station. However, many pirate radio station operators have chosen to air their programs legally on our station, with the benefit of reaching millions of potential listeners by using high-power Shortwave or AM/Medium Wave.

You may read our blog story for Tom Taylor’s & EMR, which was broadcast via IRRS & NEXUS-IBA transmitters. Tom was a well-known pirate radio operator who helped many pirate radio stations in the UK during the ’70s and ’80s. In the 1990s’ Tom became a good friend of NEXUS-IBA and IRRS when he decided to stop airing illegally and became a host on our station. Unfortunately, Tom passed away on January 22, 2018, leaving an extraordinary legacy to small radio program producers and ex-pirate radio operators you can still hear on our station every Saturday morning.

9. I am a religious broadcaster. What kind of rates do you have?

NEXUS-IBA welcomes religious broadcasters of any denomination. We have a non-discriminatory policy in accepting all confessions and all faiths. You can read more of our dedicated broadcasts on the European Gospel Radio website. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you wish to start airing on European Gospel Radio. You may also find more information on EGR on our website.

NEXUS-IBA and European Gospel Radio are strictly nonprofit and non-commercial. NEXUS-IBA, IPAR, IRRS and EGR do not sell any product or service, so we cannot provide you with any rate. We will recommend service providers with whom we work and negotiate the best possible rates at the highest possible service level for any of your broadcasting needs. Any quote will come from these commercial organisations, and payment must be made to them, not to NEXUS-IBA.

10. I am an individual, non-religious, small program producer or podcaster. Can I broadcast on your network?

Yes, of course. Small, individual, non-commercial, non-religious broadcasters usually can take advantage of very low rates negotiated with our media providers. In addition, we provide separate segments for special interest groups and programs under the name of IPAR (International Public Access Radio). Please contact us if you wish to start airing on IPAR.

11. Where can I find your up-to-date schedules?

Please check our online frequency and program schedules on this website.

12. Do you broadcast on FM?

Unfortunately, we do not broadcast on FM radio anymore. We used to air a unique English channel on FM in Milano, Italy, until 1989, but the station was shut down when we decided to focus on International Broadcasting. In 1979, the station was founded as a joke and an experiment in local English broadcasting under the funny name of “Radio Serva Milano” (on 87.5 MHz). It later re-branded Globe Radio Milan on FM 88.8 MHz.

13. Do you broadcast on AM or Medium Waves?

We currently broadcast on AM/Medium Wave 1323 kHz from Northern Italy daily from 7 PM local time in Central Europe (19 CET) until 11:15 PM (23:15 CET).

We cover a wide area including, but not limited to, Northern and Central Italy, Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Southern France, and Germany, with DX reception so far reported also in Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovakia.

14. Do you broadcast in the USA or North America?

No, unfortunately, we do not currently broadcast from the USA. US laws and regulations (The Communications Act) do not allow or make it difficult for foreign organisations and non-US citizens to own and licence stations in the USA. Besides that, we do not have the resources to start broadcasting from the USA, and currently, we do not have any agreement with US stations to broadcast our program.

However, when time and propagation allow, anyone can hear our broadcasts on Shortwave in North and South America.  At all times, listeners may also tune in to our live Internet radio streams from anywhere in the world, including the USA.

We can broadcast any program on-demand using high-power transmitters and directional antennas beamed to the USA through our European transmitters. However, outside our main target of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, there is usually a minimum requirement of 30 minutes daily for broadcasts to the Americas or areas in continental Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Please inquire about any available airtime that may still be available to your target area.

15. How can I start my FM/AM/Shortwave radio station?

Starting your radio or TV station is not easy and requires substantial investment and obtaining permission from local or national authorities. When reaching an audience in Africa or Asia, we often recommend using high-power broadcasts from Europe and inexpensive analogue shortwave receivers to cover vast areas and reach millions of listeners at a more nominal cost and effort. Please get in touch with us for more details.

16. How can I build a radio station online?

That’s relatively easy, and if you do not have the technical means to assemble the right equipment, we can assist you. You can use our or commercial software available online to feed your audio or TV signal to a streaming server. Then you will need an audio or video player installed on your website and possibly a mobile phone app to hear or watch your online station.

17. I am a song/music producer/musician. How can I send you my music to be broadcast on your stations?

Please read our website on”How you can send us your music” or songs to be used on our stations. You must own your artistic production’s intellectual/music rights and send us a signed copy of the release form. To obtain a copy of our Music/Artist/Label release with detailed instructions, please email at may and (at) nexus (dot) org or request a music release form online.

18. Do you stream other stations’ content?

Yes,  we do. We help content producers and radio stations worldwide produce any live or simulated live Internet radio stream. We can use any content provided, news, music, and programs and create a daily schedule for your station. Then, you can brand and market your audio stream on your website. Some organisations use our fully automated and customisable content production and streaming platform to create their radio station and stream it at their business premises, their Church, or as an in-store music and information service. Contact us for more details.

19. We are an internet radio station. Do you provide streaming and hosting services?

Yes. Suppose you already have your scheduled content or are an existing radio station. In that case, we can offer you the use of our streaming platform, which has been designed to serve millions of users and is currently based on our WorldDirector CDN system. We daily serve streaming content from multiple USA, Europe and Asia locations.

20. I represent a nonprofit organisation. What free options do you have?

NEXUS-IBA is also a nonprofit. We offer free consulting in media and international broadcasting to any organisation or program producer through our professional volunteers. We can help you find the most cost-effective way to share your message or program with any audience worldwide.

We encourage nonprofit organisations and missionary radio Ministries to reach audiences internationally and worldwide via Shortwave (World) radio. They will have the most significant impact vs. other commercial broadcasters on a worldwide audience, especially across the digital divide in Africa, Asia and among niches in Europe and the Americas. Unfortunately, we cannot provide any funding.

Searching for sponsorship in your local community is easier and more effective if you are looking for financial support, sponsorship or any other aid. We here can’t look for financial support for your organisations or any broadcasts we may run on your behalf. Because of the social structure of Europe, people here are not used to helping to finance nonprofit organisations by personal contribution. For example, churches receive tax money in some European countries.

You may contact us online or use our contact form.  You may also schedule a one-time, free 15-minute consultation on our homepage.

21. How can I make money or get donations to my Ministry through your broadcasts?

Let’s be honest. We are looking for genuinely nonprofit and Missionary stations or program producers to reach across the digital divide. Suppose you are primarily trying to fund your organisation with any broadcast in Europe, Africa or Asia. In that case, you will be disappointed, and we strongly discourage you from bringing your program to our stations or European Gospel Radio. The results will be disappointing. You can achieve the best results at fundraising in North America and then reach our audience in the most remote and poorest regions of Europe, Africa and Asia via our stations or on Internet streaming.

22. How can I get a QSL card for your Shortwave transmissions?

Due to budget constraints, we cannot reply to all QSL requests or send information, stickers, pennants, schedules or gadgets by mail. Currently, we do acknowledge reception reports by email only.

You can send reception reports by filling out our Online QSL Request Form (faster, preferred) or email at reports (at) nexus (dot) org. We may, and we may forward it to the programmers that you mentioned for verification, according to our privacy policy. They may reply to you with a QSL or verification letter. If this is not acceptable, please let us know by replying within 24 hours after you receive the initial acknowledgement that we have received your email or please do not send us a request for a QSL card. We only offer e-QSL cards delivered by email. We may offer physical QSL cards by regular (snail) mail on special occasions, but we have not done that for several years due to the high processing costs.

However, we make special efforts to answer your questions and confirm your reports by email. We especially encourage your comments and suggestions on our programming and content, not just technical reception conditions in your area.

Many stations have stopped issuing QSL cards to contain costs and continue providing current Shortwave services. QSL management is costly for our limited budget, and although we will try to answer on a best-effort basis, we are not currently staffed to reply to all letters and emails we receive from our listeners.

23. How/where do I purchase radio/TV/satellite/studio equipment for my station?

Unfortunately, we do not sell or resell equipment. Your best bet is to search on Google or your favourite search engine. If ever we have to get rid of some old stuff, here is our webpage. We accept donations for used equipment we occasionally want to eliminate.

24. I am a Pastor. How can I preach through your radio?

On European Gospel Radio, which is one of our stations or program segments on-air, we welcome any Church, Pastor, Minister, Priest, Friar, Monk, Nun, Bishop, Preacher, Missionary, Evangelist, Deacon, Oblate, religious person, Christian Believer and any person of goodwill belonging to any Church or Christian denomination. Please read information about European Gospel Radio, visit the EGR’s website or contact us for more details on how you can be part of our family of Christian broadcasters.

25. How can I bring my radio show to your station?

We usually accept prerecorded programs or podcasts in MP3 format. All programs must be “ready to air” and will be re-broadcasted unabridged as such. We can also accept live Internet feeds and satellite feeds. In some cases, even live or prerecorded telephone feeds. You should discuss any other way to send us your programs with our technical department in advance.

26. Why is Shortwave (World Radio) recommended for International Broadcasting?

Shortwave is cost-effective, reaches anywhere, and overcomes Government censorships and firewalls. With one Shortwave broadcast, you can simultaneously get across many countries, nations, and continents. Shortwave receivers are cheap and available. You can broadcast on Shortwave like an Internet social media, where the Internet is unavailable: you can build communities in remote parts of the world that tune to your program on Shortwave.

You bring the program, we do the rest, and deliver your Shortwave radio broadcast with the best possible signal quality to anywhere in the world.

You may read more about the effectiveness of Shortwave on NEXUS-IBA’s blog and our partner Milano Ventures’ blog.

We have also received, and we will answer the following questions soon:

27. Why is Shortwave (World Radio) recommended for International Broadcasting?

There is a lot of misunderstanding that Shortwave is a dated broadcasting media and is declining. However, there are still many regions in the world, especially in the most remote regions of Africa and Asia, where other media such as FM, AM, TV, Internet and newspapers are unavailable.

Shortwave is also the most cost-effective way to reach displaced people during regional conflicts, emergencies, or local governments blocking foreign media access.

While we do not recommend using Shortwave to reach listeners in towns where Shortwave reception may be difficult and competes heavily with other local media and the Internet, Shortwave provides an alternative way of getting first-hand information and newscasts worldwide. This is especially true in most remote areas and when listeners wish to get information from sources not usually available on other channels. In addition, shortwave is cost-effective, reaches anywhere, and overcomes Government censorships and firewalls.

Shortwave is also the preferred media of many Christian missionary broadcasters who wish to Preach the Gospel to Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and indeed to any country in the world, reaching millions of listeners most cost-effectively.

You can read our views about the Future of Shortwave broadcasting on our blog.

28. What is the difference between FM, AM (Medium Wave) and Shortwave radio broadcasting?

Standard AM and FM stations lose power as their signals dissipate along the ground over long distances. In Shortwave, the opposite is true. The earth is encased in an invisible covering of gases called the Ionosphere. This acts as a mirror, reflecting shortwave signals to Earth, thus making it possible to cover vast distances, even one or more continents, with a single transmitter.

This is why Shortwave is more efficient and cost-effective in covering large regions and populations that a single FM, AM or a network of FM transmitters would not otherwise be able to cover.

Moreover, as proven by several International broadcasters, laws and political situations may vary in time and under political or war circumstances to limit the use of local stations by foreign broadcasters or local political or religious groups to the ruling party.  Shortwave can be operated from several thousand kilometres away from the target and made almost immune from interferences and jamming, using careful frequency selection and monitoring.

29. What is the audience for Shortwave and European Medium Wave (AM Radio)?

Shortwave is a lot like advertising: it works but isn’t easy to quantify.

“If shortwave had been discovered today instead of eight decades ago it would be hailed as an amazing new technology with great potential for the world we live in today.” (John Tusa, Former Director, BBC World Service)

It’s almost impossible, and indeed, it would be extremely costly to run a global audience survey spanning several countries and continents. Not even the BBC, VOA, CNN, or other media organisations can engage in global audience research.

International audience research is tricky and expensive, so even the largest broadcasters use global statistical data to extrapolate the number of listeners.

We have gathered statistics from reputable sources on potential radio listeners in our target areas (Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific). Such data may be helpful to estimate the potential listeners and coverage of programs in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. We make them available on request to broadcasters who plan to use our international broadcasting networks.

You may find more information on Shortwave audiences on Shortwave on Milano Ventures blog and how people around the world tune into Shortwave as an alternative or unique way to receive information from outside their country.

30. I own an FM/AM/Shortwave/Internet radio/TV station. Is there a benefit for me in joining your organisation?

If you operate a Christian radio or TV station, joining European Gospel Radio offers a powerful platform for Christian and missionary organizations to amplify their message globally. Our AM and Shortwave broadcasting services, complemented by 24/7 internet streaming, provide an extraordinary reach, connecting your message with diverse audiences across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

This is more than just expanding your audience; it’s about making a profound impact on a global scale, bringing hope and spiritual guidance to remote and underserved communities. As a partner, you benefit from our broadcasting expertise and established network, ensuring your valuable content is delivered with clarity and impact. You can embrace this opportunity with European Gospel Radio to take your mission to new, inspiring heights.

31. How can I start my own satellite channel?

More questions yet to be answered:

• Do you provide Cloud/CDN/Network load-balancing services?
• Which software can I use to produce or edit a radio program on my computer?
• …

Knock, knock. Hey, is anyone there?

Please get in touch with us via our online form or chat if you need any urgent information or wish to submit a question to our FAQ.

 

Last update: Nov. 16, 2023