Launch HN: Necto (YC W18) – ISP Starter Kit

Hey, we're Ben and Adam, the founders of Necto (https://nectolab.io). We're enabling local entrepreneurs to start their own Internet Service Providers by providing network engineering, monitoring, and business support as a service. We've seen huge improvements in last mile distribution technology in the last few years (cost, reliability, thoroughput, ease of deployment), but it hasn't translated into an explosion of ISP operators. We want to change that by allowing non-network-engineers to deploy their own networks and compete with the incumbents. Necto handles the networking setup, deals with the backbone providers, helps with distribution planning, and provides ongoing monitoring and support. The operators pick the markets, set the prices, and provide a great overall experience to their customers.

We started our own ISP here in the underserved San Francisco markets of Bayview and Portola, with more neighborhoods to come. If you live in SF, we'd love to be your ISP (https://joinnecto.com). If you're interested in starting an ISP, we're looking for an initial batch of 5 operators. You can learn more about that here: https://nectolab.io .

Our product is a combination of a few important requirements for running an ISP effectively: a centralized Network Operations Center (NOC), a Operational Support System (OSS) to manage the subscribers and get visibility into issues, and an Operator's Handbook that covers the how-to's of running an ISP (both technically and our advice on the business side). Our NOC will handle things like BGP, routing, reachability, hardware issues, upstream connectivity, and distribution provisioning. The OSS supports managing subscribers, diagnosing common issues, and performing installations. Our handbook provides a list Standard Operating Procedures for day-to-day management of the ISP and, in combination with our community of ISP operators, strategies on how to effectively launch and grow an ISP.

We charge an initial setup fee and an ongoing percentage of revenue. The initial setup fee covers us designing your initial network, sourcing your backbone connection, and the cost of the core routing stack. The ongoing percentage of revenue aligns our incentives with our operators and covers monitoring, the NOC, and ongoing enhancements for the software and community. The exact numbers depend on the scale of the network the operators are building.

We're staunch supporters of Net Neutrality and increasing broadband penetration without sacrificing privacy. We don't sell personal information or throttle traffic (and our operators won't either). We believe that the future is in highly localized ISPs competing on service quality. We're excited to tackle this problem because we've had to deal with poor internet service before, and we now know that you can make a great business out of providing better quality access. Our backgrounds are in enterprise automation technology and the home services industry (air conditioning, plumbing, electric). We're happy to answer as many questions about any of this as we can! If you're at all considering starting an ISP in your neighborhood after reading this, let us know at nectolab.io and include your HN username!

Thanks, Ben & Adam

In case you haven’t found this lead yet, Microsoft has had a number of funding initiatives in the past looking to encourage startups to provide better connectivity to underserved markets. The first link google found on the initiative [0] is fairly old but I’m pretty sure this was/is a multi-year effort that is likely still active and if not probably still has significant advocates within the company that are worth finding if underserved markets are relevant to Necto.

Full disclosure: co-founder of a Seattle-based startup that was invited into the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator and found it an incredibly valuable experience

[0] http://fortune.com/2015/11/16/microsoft-cheap-internet/

Is what you're offering substantially substantive above https://startyourownisp.com?

I won't mince words: you're asking customers to outsource the core pieces of their business (netops, backhaul, billing) that they should be competent in, which puts them in a precarious position if you exhaust your runway, decide to move on to another venture, or are acquired by a less-than-ideal org.

Full disclosure: Muncipal/coop broadband proponent.

It's a bummer that this looks to be a turnkey kit that does exactly what I would imagine is the most fun part of building an ISP: network engineering, building routing hardware, etc...

I see that your own ISP relies on PPPoE... is that a decision you intend to rely on for the necto lab customers (other ISPs) or was that something you had to do specifically in your own case? Have you seen any downsides to that? I know as a consumer PPPoE is kind of a pain in the butt.

Just wanted to say congrats!

Is this still bay area only or are you ready to expand to other areas?