Start Your Own ISP • Hacker News Board

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#131

Post by swah » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 9:37 AM UTC

guiambros wrote: post #86

tegansnyder wrote: post #9

I started one of the first 56k dial up ISPs in Nebraska when I was 13 years old with the help of my parents. In high school I partnered with some friends after reading a CNET article about a WISP in Washington state. My friend's dad had a few businesses that needed to share a T1 line so we connected them wirelessly and sold the excess capacity to farmers in rural Nebraska and Kansas. It was an amazing experience. Wor…

+1. I had a similar experience, starting one of the first ISPs back in Brazil, in 94-95. Me and my two co-founders came from an academic background, so we were using BITNET for a few years by then, and saw firsthand when the internet started to open up for commercial access. Overall it was a great learning experience, but incredibly challenging. There was nothing like OP's guide (or HN, or Google for that matter), so…

Fellow brazilian here - would love to hear your story on a longer form if it exists.

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#132

Post by Rjevski » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 9:52 AM UTC

grahamburger wrote: post #27

Scarbutt wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the advantages of LTE for fixed wireless networks?

Good question. Off the top of my head: 1) much better wireless performance, higher modulation at lower receive signal levels. 2) easier channel planning - you use the same channels across all your towers and the core figures it all out. 3) you can potentially get roaming agreements with carriers (I don't know of anyone who has successfully done this but apparently it's feasible) Big disadvantage is cost - you have to…

I would very much recommend against this - off-the-shelf core networks are shit. Look up "SS7 vulnerabilities" on Google to see what I mean... and yeah your LTE core network would be based on that.

LTE itself is good but you'd need to build a proper core network for it - at the moment none of the off-the-shelf gear you can buy is any good.

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#133

Post by fishmeat » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 10:30 AM UTC

grahamburger wrote: post #8

Hey everyone! Author here. Happy to answer questions. Thanks for posting @tomcam! Just a quick note about me - I currently work with the great folks at common.net running an ISP that is similar but not exactly like what's described here. Look us up if you're in East Bay maybe we can get you better Internet service! This site is not associated with common.net, though.

I'm in East Bay, can I have a link?

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#134

Post by xf86alsa » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 10:52 AM UTC

fishmeat wrote: post #133

grahamburger wrote: post #8

Hey everyone! Author here. Happy to answer questions. Thanks for posting @tomcam! Just a quick note about me - I currently work with the great folks at common.net running an ISP that is similar but not exactly like what's described here. Look us up if you're in East Bay maybe we can get you better Internet service! This site is not associated with common.net, though.

I'm in East Bay, can I have a link?

https://common.net

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#135

Post by legostormtroopr » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 11:38 AM UTC

grahamburger wrote: post #8

Hey everyone! Author here. Happy to answer questions. Thanks for posting @tomcam! Just a quick note about me - I currently work with the great folks at common.net running an ISP that is similar but not exactly like what's described here. Look us up if you're in East Bay maybe we can get you better Internet service! This site is not associated with common.net, though.

I really just want to know what framework you use for the site - is it just Material Design?

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#136

Post by Gnarl » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 11:43 AM UTC

Hate to be the grumpy uncle at the party, but seriously, you don't want to build a business on microwave radiation based wireless. Why? Its a potent biological toxin and the wireless industry is just walking dead until Governments are forced to shut them down to prevent getting bankrupted through cost to the health-care system. The scientific evidence is abundant and its strong. Countries are already passing laws to reduce exposure. Ignore at your peril.

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#137

Post by lambdas » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 12:23 PM UTC

Gnarl wrote: post #136

Hate to be the grumpy uncle at the party, but seriously, you don't want to build a business on microwave radiation based wireless. Why? Its a potent biological toxin and the wireless industry is just walking dead until Governments are forced to shut them down to prevent getting bankrupted through cost to the health-care system. The scientific evidence is abundant and its strong. Countries are already passing laws to…

Do you have a link to the scientific evidence?

I've never heard this before. Don't want to dismiss it as tin-foil paranoia without reading the data!

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#138

Post by known » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 12:36 PM UTC

Sounds like https://www.liveport.com/services/

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#139

Post by mseebach » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 1:01 PM UTC

NotSammyHagar wrote: post #53

Wow, this is fascinating! I would love to invest and start a wireless ISP on the eastside of Seattle. Suppose you have an area that is flat with lots of exposure, where everyone hates Comcast (maybe that last part is superfluous). I would think you'd find plenty of programmer customers if you have a say 200 mbit wireless connection without bandwidth caps (or maybe something insane like 10 tb/month). This seems like a…

It seems like there'd be a market for a "ISPaaS" style company. This company would consult on the setup, in the style of this guide, but would remote-admin all the gear, keep track of updates, security settings, make sure everything is documented, run 24/7 NOC monitoring, spot bottlenecks early and recommend upgrades, review site access contracts (or provide standard contracts), run billing and customer service etc. Basically, all the things that are easier and cheaper to run at scale. Their business model would be to take a cut of billing. The local owner would scout, deal with negotiating site access and provide the capital. The ISPaaS could provide detailed standard/lightly customised installation documents that could be handed to local contractors, or handled by the owner. They could also maintain a stash of marketing collateral and website templates and of course provide a forum for network owners to share ideas and best practices.

Re: Start Your Own ISP

#140

Post by yorby » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 1:11 PM UTC

If you have fiber to your home from a local ISP, can you convert it to a business account for using it for a WISP? (Comcast offers fiber/2000 Mbps in my area)