WXCI (91.7 FM) is a student

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

broadcasting an

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

format. Licensed to Danbury, Connecticut, United States, the station serves the Danbury area. The station is owned by

Western Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System. WCSU consists of four schools: the An ...

. WXCI broadcasts to Connecticut and New York at 3,000 watts with a stereo transmitter on WCSU's Midtown Campus. It also streams its broadcasts on the Web. The radio station obtained its

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

license to operate on 28 February

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. The Station began at 12:30 pm local time with a student, Rob Abbett nicknamed Rabbett, with the words, "Good afternoon, this is FM radio station WXCI in Danbury beginning its first broadcast day." Before Abbett threw the switch to FM broadcasting, the station was AM carrier current and PA system in dorms and student center and, was at the time, located in Memorial Hall with the call letters WSCT. This station was started in 1968 by Bob Wilson. However, by 1973, events progressed to FM radio broadcast initially transmitting at 10 watts of power, WXCI upgraded to 760 watts in 1978. In 1982, WXCI was one of the first FM stations to focus on

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

, a format now common among US college radio stations. As one of a handful of stations playing alternative rock and new wave in the US in the early 1980s, WXCI helped popularize new bands and artists such as REM,

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

, Elvis Costello, U2, Culture Club, Duran Duran, and Black Flag.

References

External links

* Western Connecticut State University Danbury, Connecticut Mass media in Fairfield County, Connecticut XCI XCI Radio stations established in 1973 New wave radio stations 1973 establishments in Connecticut {{Connecticut-radio-station-stub