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Starting an Internet Service Provider

chrishacken.com

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Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#231

Post by dkresge »

shambolic wrote: post #225
dkresge wrote: post #224

I've been contemplating setting up a small [NW]ISP for our neighborhood (rural, wooded, private roads) but LOS issues limit my wireless options. One thought was to install a few airfibers and "demux" them with G.fast to each CPE via its service drop interconnect in the pedestal. This has the benefit of not having to trench the last 100 yards from the street to the residence. BUT I can find scant information on what a…

The Brand X decision killed local loop unbundling in the US. So unless you own the copper plant this is a no-go. If you are outside the US, even then there are problems as access to subloops can be hard to get.

Yep, this would be in the US. I had hope that there would be, at a minimum, some exclusion for infrastructure on private property, but it appears that isn't the case. Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#232

Post by shambolic »

hawski wrote: post #229
arca_vorago wrote: post #9

Thanks for this article. I have been considering the feasibility of starting a WISP here in West Texas, so it's cool to see the beggining stages from the inside perspective. I whish I knew more about the laws on common access to equipment/lines. For example, the only cable provider locally is Suddenlink, AT&T Uverse is still on copper phone lines, and there is only one local ISP bringing fiber to residential customer…

I wonder when point-to-point radio network could be more cost effective solution than fiber network in someone else’s ground or trench. I assume that point-to-point radio has more expensive equipment, is that true? Probably it all depends on a scale. Curious how would curves look like - maybe population density on x and approximated cost of infrastructure on y.

Wireless point-to-point links are comparatively cheap, but require clear line of sight, uncontested spectrum and power. Sometimes you have none of those. Wireless also scales poorly past 1 Gbps.

Fiber is more expensive up front, but cheaper in the long run if your bandwidth requirements grow. Fiber also does not become obsolete, like wireless equipment.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#233

Post by fencepost »

chrishacken wrote: post #3
gigatexal wrote: post #2

Godspeed man. I wish the regulatory landscape was more open to this kind of thing all over the country. The incumbent ISPs need some competition.

Thank you. I obviously completely agree; we tried relentlessly to contact our local utilities to gain access to their underground conduit and was never able to get someone on the phone or even much of a response. I eventually got to the point where I was like, "F k it, I'll do it on my own." Now we're looking at microtrenching, which is probably an even larger endeavor, but at least we'll own the conduit.

You might get more response if you call them and say "Hey, since we haven't heard from you we're going to be trenching in our own conduit. This is a written request for up-to-date maps of where yours is so we can be sure we don't cut anything."

It might not be the response you want, but it may make it more likely that someone will respond.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#234

Post by benjamincburns »

chrishacken wrote: post #230
dsl wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did a bunch of ISP builds in my younger days. It is worth while to see if you can horse trade some internet for an electrician with tower experience (or a real RF engineer) to help you. As other commenters have suggested, check your ground potential and make corrections as necessary.

Unless I open up the device, there's nothing to attach ground wire to. The device is constructed primarily of plastic. Grounding the dish wouldn't do anything, would it?

I think you want to be grounding the shield on your Coax line. But I'm not an electrician or an RF engineer, so I might be completely wrong.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#235

Post by shambolic »

fencepost wrote: post #233
chrishacken wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. I obviously completely agree; we tried relentlessly to contact our local utilities to gain access to their underground conduit and was never able to get someone on the phone or even much of a response. I eventually got to the point where I was like, "F k it, I'll do it on my own." Now we're looking at microtrenching, which is probably an even larger endeavor, but at least we'll own the conduit.

You might get more response if you call them and say "Hey, since we haven't heard from you we're going to be trenching in our own conduit. This is a written request for up-to-date maps of where yours is so we can be sure we don't cut anything." It might not be the response you want, but it may make it more likely that someone will respond.

They won't send any maps, they will just come out and mark their underground utilities before you dig.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#236

Post by amalag »

chrishacken wrote: post #12
shambolic wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we tried relentlessly to contact our local utilities to gain access to their underground conduit and was never able to get someone on the phone or even much of a response. I find that really hard to believe. Go to their offices and ask for the manager. > I eventually got to the point where I was like, "Fk it, I'll do it on my own." Now we're looking at microtrenching, which is probably an even larger endeavor, but…

Renting duct is $3/ft/year. That's $15,840 per mile per year. That's not including ~$30,000 to contract out the work (I was quoted $7/ft) and $5,000 that the utility charges to have someone on-site to oversee the operation. I've determined we can microtrench ourselves for between $30,000 and $40,000. I've been on contact with another ISP, https://tsi.io who has successfully done micro-trenching with very minimal capi…

That website is very cool. It will be really interesting if this catches on. There are a ton of rural customers underserved by DSL or even wireless ISPs.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#237

Post by rohmish »

mildlyclassic wrote: post #178
dboreham wrote: post #162

I feel I need to write the inverse article "Stopping an Internet Service Provider", since I just shut down mine. Although this stuff can be great fun, you have to stop and ask yourself why the market is "under served" and why there isn't already some dude supplying these customers, driving around the city in his Lexus and waxing his new boat on the weekends. The unfortunate truth is that there just isn't that great a…

>A small new player can't compete in either of those markets. We're Wifidabba.com and we're in the current batch of YC. We provide low-cost internet in India at tea-stalls and bakeries. Consumers buy tokens and get access to wifi. In effect, we take a broadband connection and slice it into tiny pieces and sell that as wifi. I guess in some ways we're an ISP, the government certainly thinks so, we've had to apply for…

Hmm, went through your website and i like your idea.

What do you use for backhaul? chaiwalas and paanwalas aren't going to have network access in form of fiber or even cable on the street so i guess 4G hotspot? Also, Is there a way people can pay the stall owner some money and get a token from him? People here generally dont prefer online transactions.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#238

Post by rohmish »

leog7 wrote: post #205
mildlyclassic wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A small new player can't compete in either of those markets. We're Wifidabba.com and we're in the current batch of YC. We provide low-cost internet in India at tea-stalls and bakeries. Consumers buy tokens and get access to wifi. In effect, we take a broadband connection and slice it into tiny pieces and sell that as wifi. I guess in some ways we're an ISP, the government certainly thinks so, we've had to apply for…

Reliance jio is providing 4g data almost for free in india why would i want to buy wifi as well ?

Jio's 4G data isn't going to last forever. They are going to charge for it someday. Maybe from april, maybe from next year. But one day they will. Also Jio at some places is too slow still.

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#239

Post by rohmish »

mildlyclassic wrote: post #198
jbpetersen wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what value of "more than just an ISP"?

A sort of AWS style platform for retail. Eg. Are you building a POS or Inventory app or do you want to sell your online goods offline? You can access our merchants and authenticated users that already have a prepaid wallet and are at a retail location predisposed to buying. And because of our connectivity, you don't have to worry if your users have internet. Or maybe an IOT platform of sorts, for example, you're an F…

So using the user's phone just for auth, akin to cards? Nice idea!

Re: Starting an Internet Service Provider

#240

Post by rohmish »

zer0t3ch wrote: post #167
popey456963 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would definitely recommend Discord, although it's aimed at gamers, it seems to be an amazing all-round chat service. Rooms are of an unlimited size and have all the core functionality like file & image sharing, code highlighting, "reactions", which we've come to expect but also focuses more on getting people to speak to each other. It's built on electron and is both really quick & also require almost no resources whe…

It has code highlighting? This is news to me.

discord has become so much more than a gaming comms platform now. And rightfully so. It is an amazing platform.
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