On air in 2010?

The station, WNEE 88.1 FM, will feature both traditional Christian and praise music, along with educational programming.

“We have got a lot of steps to take to make that happen, but I would hope that it is all reality here in 2010,” said Lowell Jackson, who’s heading up the radio station.

Jackson said WNEE 88.1 FM — funded by the charity, Community Public Radio — could begin broadcasting as early as the spring, but there’s no definite start date.

Construction and the installation of technology will begin as soon as all local and federal government regulations have been met.

“It’s a journey of many steps … A lot of it depends on how fast these steps occur,” said Jackson, who serves as a volunteer on the board of Community Public Radio.

The wattage for WNEE hasn’t been determined either. Jackson is looking at two plans, one for six kilowatts and the other for 17 kilowatts.

WNEE 88.1 FM, which will locate on Easy Street in Hull, will likely be the first frequency on most radio dials.

The station will offer a “family-friendly” format, which Jackson describes as sing-along Christian music, ranging from traditional to praise. WNEE will also provide local programming, including short spotlights on community members.

“We’ll get them to come in and record a little minute or two type of contribution,” Jackson explained. “What they’re doing in their life, what’s important and how they’re how they’re living their life to full meaning.”

Though admittedly “not a radio man,” Jackson has some experience.

His father was involved in radio, and Jackson worked part-time in radio in Carrollton during graduate school. He went on to work with the Billy Graham organization in the area of radio and media.

Jackson said the process of starting a radio station takes “an unbelievable amount of time.”

The idea for this station actually began several years ago, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) takes applications for new stations sparingly. In fact, the commission closed filing for many years.

So when the opportunity for a station along the Madison County-Clarke County line came available, Community Public Radio moved on the plan.

It took a couple of years for the FCC to actually grant the application for the Hull station, however.

“You’ve got to be in it for the long haul and be very, very committed to have the patience to get through it,” Jackson said of the process.

Jackson noted that radio is akin to owning “real estate in the sky.” Regulations are in place in this area to protect the radio territory in the Atlanta and Greenville markets.

And Jackson noted that the Atlanta market is “very crowded on the dial.”

“So we squeezed this one in and it’s going to be a nice one I think, and serve the community very, very well,” he said.

WNEE Hull will likely be the last full-power radio station granted in this area, Jackson noted.

It’s uncertain how many people the not-for-profit WNEE will employee.

“I expect that our budget is going to be thin, especially in this economy,” Jackson said. “Charities are really having to tighten their belts. We’re no exception to the real world we’re in. We expect to use a lot of volunteers.”

Jackson noted Madison County and Hull officials have been helpful in the start-up process, which was one of the reasons the station opted to locate in Madison County.

“They didn’t just seem to come up with endless hoops to jump through,” Jackson said. “They had a positive can-do attitude. They seemed to be extremely helpful.”