Why won't a West Coast ISP work?

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DonGould

3892 posts

Uber Geek

#93596 24-Nov-2011 19:14

quickymart: I'm from there, and I can tell you it wouldn't work.

Why would a west coast based ISP not work?

We spend our days working on telecommunications. It was stated that an ISP based on the West Coast wouldn't work.

I'd like to hear why people fell a regional based ISP would not work on the West Coast.

We already have a growing number of areas around the country that are doing well with local ISPs.

Perhaps Uber would like to chime in and tell us how well they're rocking in Northland?

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#549594 24-Nov-2011 20:38

a Wireless ISP mite work, also it would have to be cheap.. west coast isnt a "rich area"

oxnsox

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#549596 24-Nov-2011 20:42

l43a2: a Wireless ISP mite work, also it would have to be cheap.. west coast isnt a "rich area"

Theres probably more infrastructure (and cost) in that than reselling over the existing network as others do... but I'm sure Don will be along in a moment and comment more correctly on all of that....

ZollyMonsta

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#549597 24-Nov-2011 20:46

Lol OXNSOX !

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DonGould

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#549608 24-Nov-2011 21:18

oxnsox:
l43a2: a Wireless ISP mite work, also it would have to be cheap.. west coast isnt a "rich area"

Theres probably more infrastructure (and cost) in that than reselling over the existing network as others do... but I'm sure Don will be along in a moment and comment more correctly on all of that....

We're heading in to a UFB world. If you want to look at running an ISP from Ross you're going to be able to.

Oxnsox is right, with UFB it could well end up being cheaper to use government regulated fibre to deliver services to your customers around the country.

You could get together with all your west coast mates and explain the case for your west coast brand to get traction around the country - http://www.iinet.net.au/about/timeline.html - check out 1993. I've been to Padbury and I can tell you it doesn't get much more remote. You can get to Sydney faster than someone from Padbury can.

As for a wireless ISP v's using Telecom's infrastructure, well you couldn't become a TW customer currently, so the point is a bit moot, your only real choice is wireless.

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l43a2

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#549655 24-Nov-2011 22:25

as i recall only greymouth is actually getting this fiber...

einzack

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#550102 25-Nov-2011 20:10

l43a2: a Wireless ISP mite work, also it would have to be cheap.. west coast isnt a "rich area"

the West Coast actually has the highest average salary by region, in NZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10741338

quickymart

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#550126 25-Nov-2011 23:06

DonGould: Why would a west coast based ISP not work?

The biggest issue is the low population density, spread out over a vast area, and highly rural. Yes, I know wireless might work - but you would need to cover an area the distance from Auckland to Wellington, with only around 30 000 people: the population of Timaru. It's not all flat smooth land either - quite hilly and mountainous in parts - so another difficulty for wireless service. The setup costs alone would be extremely high - and most people in the towns can already get a reasonable ADSL service.

Running fibre from one end of the Coast to the other probably isn't an overly good profit margin either - by the time you get from Hokitika down to Haast (at the bottom of the Coast) you've probably passed around 3000 possible subscribers, tops - and you won't get them all signing up to your service. You would have kms and kms of fibre laid - particularly in South Westland - with no houses to connect it up to, simply because no one (or a handful) of people live in that location, and the neighbours houses are kms apart.

Having said that, I believe there *was* a Coast-wide dialup ISP in the late 1990s, that apparently struggled to make a profit against the likes of Xtra, and I heard it eventually it went under.

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l43a2

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#550141 26-Nov-2011 00:26

minidata was it?

quickymart

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#550157 26-Nov-2011 06:29

Can't quite recall the name, but I don't think it was them.

quickymart

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#550629 27-Nov-2011 17:53

Don? No comments on my explanation?

DonGould

3892 posts

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#550936 28-Nov-2011 13:15

quickymart: Don? No comments on my explanation?

na... you made some interesting comments. :)

I love the idea of small vibrant communities with a full range of fruit. But I'm an idealist and get the fact that life doesn't really work that way.

My childhood memories of Greymouth are of coal fires. My parents left and took me to the UK but I really grew up in Wellington and today I live in Christchurch.

I guess if I wanted to mine coal then I wouldn't really look to Auckland as a place to live.

I grew up with the marvel of telecommunications and subscribed to the idea that one day we would be able to 'telecommute' and work from home.

I guess if you're a miner, but your kids want to be computer experts then you just have to accept that you'll spend a life time apart as they head to a bigger smoke to realise their dreams.

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Ragnor

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#550944 28-Nov-2011 13:25

A not for profit co-op would be the best way to build out fibre infrastructure on the west coast. There are numerous examples in Europe and the US.

Still pretty risky because you need people to put money into the co-op, and if a large amount of people can already get DSL or mobile broadband they probably won't be willing.

quickymart

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#551177 28-Nov-2011 20:43

Ragnor: A not for profit co-op would be the best way to build out fibre infrastructure on the west coast. There are numerous examples in Europe and the US.

Still pretty risky because you need people to put money into the co-op, and if a large amount of people can already get DSL or mobile broadband they probably won't be willing.

True, but remember, the West Coast = low population sparsely scattered over a large area. That's what I say would be working against a solely Coast-based ISP. Don't get me wrong, I think it would be nice, and Coasters would love something like this. But as to whether customer numbers would be high enough to warrant an ISP entirely on its own, I would say no. At the most, even if you got everyone with a computer and phone line in the region signed up, you'd have around 28 000 customers (at best). And they would be all covered over a huge area that you would need to service - the Coast has something like 10 toll-calling areas: 0800 helpdesk numbers on their own would cost a lot each month, especially when you're just starting out.

This is why I feel it simply wouldn't work. Sure, you could get all the funding in the world for your fibre and run it from one end of the Coast to the other. But remember - large areas with no population: you could lay 10kms of fibre (particularly in South Westland) and pass 0 houses = no customers. So you've laid 10kms of cable with $0 return. Sure further down the line are a few more people. But by the time you made it to Haast (population around 300, I think) you've probably laid around 300kms of fibre south of Hokitika, to pass no more than 4000 subscribers, tops.

It's a nice idea but I don't think it would fly...sorry :(

oxnsox

1923 posts

Uber Geek

#551216 28-Nov-2011 22:03

I recall seeing folk using satellite broadband (probably phone as well) even south of Haast. Places like Hannahs Clearing (there's a school) Neils Beach, and at the end of the road in Jacksons. It's probably their best, and most reliable, option

codyc1515

1598 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#557117 12-Dec-2011 17:37

What about using some of the Ubiquiti AirMax gear? It can cover 120 degrees and go around 300Mbps, as well as covering anywhere up to about 30-35 Km's (depending on the antenna used).

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