Starting an ISP, how hard could it be?

[casbro11]

So I've done some research into starting an ISP in my city, and it seems mostly confusing rather than hard. Does anyone here have experience with this/ know how to do this? How hard would it be to set up a wireless network like the one in Detroit or in small remote towns, and provide cheaper service to others? Thanks.

 

 

[themctipers]

if it was easy more people would do it already

all of these municipal, state , and federal requirements, and also competition from everyone else, and also having no reputation, and also needing to rent your infrastructure at exorbitant rates ..

[manikyath]

the legalities and paperwork are more difficult than putting the infrastructure down.

[GER_T4IGA]

Also consider the fact that existing ISPs can lobby the duck out of you. 

I like your intent but not your odds. 

[manikyath]

3 minutes ago, GER_T4IGA said:

Also consider the fact that existing ISPs can lobby the duck out of you. 

I like your intent but not your odds. 

or just the fact existing ISPs are already there, running, and known.

 

i mean, i'm sure some of the many emerging ISPs in belgium will get me a better deal than the behemoth that telenet has become, but if i dont know you, i wouldnt trust you to get me a 24/7 reliable service.

[GER_T4IGA]

3 minutes ago, manikyath said:

or just the fact existing ISPs are already there, running, and known.

 

i mean, i'm sure some of the many emerging ISPs in belgium will get me a better deal than the behemoth that telenet has become, but if i dont know you, i wouldnt trust you to get me a 24/7 reliable service.

We never personally had problems but from what you hear about Telekom and Unitymedia and friends in Germany, where I am from, even the big ISP should not be trusted for shit. I would rather take a local ISP with short internal paths and a local door to kick in if shit hits the fan. I might be wrong though. 

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, GER_T4IGA said:

We never personally had problems but from what you hear about Telekom and Unitymedia and friends in Germany, where I am from, even the big ISP should not be trusted for shit. I would rather take a local ISP with short internal paths and a local door to kick in if shit hits the fan. I might be wrong though. 

eh. people tell me telenet is the devil, but if i see the shit service even belgacom provides, and the joke scarlet is.. i praise telenet that i'm getting a rock solid connection all day err' day over a coax thats so old it is actually rusty, without a connector because that fell off.

[hardtofindinthefuture]

Ive had the idea to start a ISP were i have a fuck load of wifi routers, load them into a hot air ballon thats tied down, in like NYC and charge people to use it....

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, v0nn_toaster said:

Ive had the idea to start a ISP were i have a fuck load of wifi routers, load them into a hot air ballon thats tied down, in like NYC and charge people to use it....

So Project Loon? Also please fix your signature (see Community Standards linked above)

3 hours ago, casbro11 said:

So I've done some research into starting an ISP in my city, and it seems mostly confusing rather than hard. Does anyone here have experience with this/ know how to do this? How hard would it be to set up a wireless network like the one in Detroit or in small remote towns, and provide cheaper service to others? Thanks.

 

 

It's not that difficult depending on your area however a few key things to keep in mind:

 

• Billing system and legal requirements.E.g. here in Aus, ISP's/telco's have specific requirements for billing set by the government.
• Installation restrictions (if you're a WISP) - mast heights can become an issue with local council and aviation authorities

The actual implementation itself is fairly straightforward - purchase bandwidth from 2 or more upstream carriers, have an MPLS (preferably 2 or dual wireless link) between the data center where your networking equipment is and the tower space you're using.

 

Where you'll come unstuck is costs:

 

• Automated billing costs (fees from banks)
• Bandwidth costs (from your carriers)
• Insurance & other legal costs of doing business
• Installation licenses (depending on what you're doing, you may need to be a licensed electrician)

[Donut417]

28 minutes ago, Windspeed36 said:

So Project Loon? Also please fix your signature (see Community Standards linked above)

It's not that difficult depending on your area however a few key things to keep in mind:

 

• Billing system and legal requirements.E.g. here in Aus, ISP's/telco's have specific requirements for billing set by the government.
• Installation restrictions (if you're a WISP) - mast heights can become an issue with local council and aviation authorities

The actual implementation itself is fairly straightforward - purchase bandwidth from 2 or more upstream carriers, have an MPLS (preferably 2 or dual wireless link) between the data center where your networking equipment is and the tower space you're using.

 

Where you'll come unstuck is costs:

 

• Automated billing costs (fees from banks)
• Bandwidth costs (from your carriers)
• Insurance & other legal costs of doing business
• Installation licenses (depending on what you're doing, you may need to be a licensed electrician)

Id like to add on to what was stated here. Here in the US some ISP's own utility poles, it makes it harder for newer providers to be able to wire up areas. Google learned this the hard way in Nashville TN. So some times you gotta fight the guys who are already there. 

[hardtofindinthefuture]

48 minutes ago, Windspeed36 said:

Also please fix your signature

whats wrong with my signature?

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, v0nn_toaster said:

whats wrong with my signature?

Don't worry - was showing up differently for me

[hardtofindinthefuture]

Just now, Windspeed36 said:

Don't worry - was showing up differently for me

huh

[manikyath]

21 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

• Automated billing costs (fees from banks)
• Bandwidth costs (from your carriers)
• Insurance & other legal costs of doing business
• Installation licenses (depending on what you're doing, you may need to be a licensed electrician)

you forgot hardware and staff cost, because that shit gets expensive fast.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, manikyath said:

you forgot hardware and staff cost, because that shit gets expensive fast.

Hardware for this isn’t actually that expensive in the grand scheme of things 

[dalekphalm]

19 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Hardware for this isn’t actually that expensive in the grand scheme of things 

Sure but even still, we're likely looking at tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment at minimum.

[mynameisjuan]

19 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Hardware for this isn’t actually that expensive in the grand scheme of things 

Uh, a 25 mile diameter to lay fiber, nodes, ONTs...etc..is going to cost us upwards of $30 million (does include labor). This is just the last mile as well. You still have your backbone, core switch, core router, servers for DHCP...

 

Trust me, labor can be up to half the cost but in general, hardware is the most expensive. 

[dalekphalm]

10 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

Uh, a 25 mile diameter to lay fiber, nodes, ONTs...etc..is going to cost us upwards of $30 million (does include labor). This is just the last mile as well. You still have your backbone, core switch, core router, servers for DHCP...

 

Trust me, labor can be up to half the cost but in general, hardware is the most expensive. 

I think he's talking about Fixed Wireless based ISP's, not a traditional one.

[mynameisjuan]

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I think he's talking about Fixed Wireless based ISP's, not a traditional one.

In that case then yeah, hardware is nothing. I was just thrown off by people talking about utility poles and thought it was about running fiber. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I think he's talking about Fixed Wireless based ISP's, not a traditional one.

Yarp.