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As someone who's trying to bootstrap a small, local, last-mile ISP right now, my only wish is that there were many more people that held your opinion on this ma
by maxsilver 13y ago
As someone who's trying to bootstrap a small, local, last-mile ISP right now, my only wish is that there were many more people that held your opinion on this matter, and were willing to back that opinion with their dollars.
- opendais 13y agoWhere is this ISP? :) May I suggest a link in your profile?
- toomuchtodo 13y agoI can't offer you cash (I'm in Chicago), but if you ever want free help, even with trenching, pulling fiber, long-haul wireless throws, system/network admin, email me (email in profile). I fully support all alternatives to Comcast.
- Avenger42 13y agoPlease tell me you're building in the Houston area. I'd jump ship from AT&T in a heartbeat.
- notdonspaulding 13y agoHah! I'm right there with you, attempting to do the same thing in Central IL! (Should I have acknowledged my bias?)
- micro-ram 13y agoITV-3?
- notdonspaulding 13y agoNope, that's not me. :-)
- antimatter 13y agoBest of luck. May I ask for a high level overview of what is involved with bootstrapping a small ISP?
- maxsilver 13y agoSure, you can ask me anything :) The process so far has involved : - Figure out how to get access to right of ways [Completed] - Figure out how to get internet access to sell [Completed] - Figure out how much it will cost to start a CO [Mostly Completed] - Acquire a place to put a CO [Completed] - Acquire high quality, redundant backhaul [Under Construction Now] - Figure out who's willing to pay to switch away from Comcast [I have some names, but this is definitely not completed] - Beg them for money [Some have subscribed, but definitely not enough yet] There's a couple of big things that work against me: City + State taxes for right of ways are pricy. We're talking multiple thousands of dollars per mile per year, on every single mile, just in taxes. (And I'm lucky, my city still owns a lot of their own right of ways. A lot of cities just wholesale gave them away to AT&T/Comcast). Backhaul is expensive. Most ISP's are monopolies, so they can safely buy in scale. I have zero scale, so I pay full retail for everything. This is obviously very pricy. (I'm guessing I pay at least 3 times more, per Mbps, than Charter pays for backhaul, and probably 4 - 6+ times more than Comcast pays) Fiber lines are dirt cheap. Install is expensive. Easily 95% of the cost of the network is that initial installation, and it can run into past the million dollar mark even in the smallest of neighborhoods. If you want more info, let me know. I'd happily talk more about this, and provide solid numbers.
- dublinben 13y agoAre you targeting businesses first? I know that some local ISPs have been successful by first poaching the fraternities/sororities around a school, then expanding from there.
- digikata 13y agoThis sounds fascinating, I'd love to hear more. Incidentally, that makes me wonder if the backhaul cost problem could be something Google could see their way to sell to local ISPs at closer to bulk rates. It aligns with the general goals of Google Fiber, while allowing Google to pressure big telecom companies with less capital outlay.
- Aloha 13y agoI'm game - I worked for a major national DSL provider doing field work, a major ISP doing support, and a major telecom carrier now doing field support.