Should I start my own ISP?

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Should I start my own ISP?

DonGould

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#75314 16-Jan-2011 15:42

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10700000

Last week someone asked me why I don't just write up my thoughts and look for an angle investor to set up a project.

When you consider the link above, how does one even start to compete in such a market?

D

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NonprayingMantis

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#427687 16-Jan-2011 16:31

"how does one even start to compete in such a market?"

by stealing confidential information apparently....

DonGould

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#427690 16-Jan-2011 16:40

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/technology/4543971/Vodafone-sacks-staff-over-database-breaches

Two articles in as many weeks.

I might question why Telecom don't have wireline logins tied down to dealer sites using technology as simple as ip authentication to stop this crap happening?

It makes Telecom look like a bunch of amatures!

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sbiddle

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#427691 16-Jan-2011 16:49

DonGould: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/technology/4543971/Vodafone-sacks-staff-over-database-breaches

Two articles in as many weeks.

I might question why Telecom don't have wireline logins tied down to dealer sites using technology as simple as ip authentication to stop this crap happening?

It makes Telecom look like a bunch of amatures!

Wireline is a provisioning system - it is not a CRM system. If you used it like I did on a semi daily basis you'd understand what the platform is actually for.

IP authentication doesn't stop theft. Neither does two factor authentication. Look at the number of Police, bank staff etc who get pinged every year for looking up other people.

DonGould

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#427703 16-Jan-2011 17:36

sbiddle: IP authentication doesn't stop theft.

Agreed. If a staffer from Telecom.Shop.MyLocalMall logged in while at work there's nothing to stop them accessing my Telecom accounts and downloading the data then passing it to their Sling Shot Marketing Company Mates.

It should slow down the sales guys at the marketing company from logging in from their own office and a curious reporter in his office.

I'm not really sure what the comment about wireline being a provisioning system had to do with anything... or my knowing what it is used for (which I did, but that's not the point).

However it's all a bit off topic.

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Ragnor

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#427717 16-Jan-2011 18:20

I think there is a niche there for an Internode style ISP in NZ aimed at geeks and gamers. Internode are a popular Aussie ISP.

My wish list

Strong performance and latency focus
Gaming servers
Steam content mirrors
Peering at APE and WIX
Flexible plans
etc

Bee

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#427718 16-Jan-2011 18:27

Im seriously considering this. starting my own isp. as long as you can come near on price all you have to do to compete in NZ at the moment would be to offer proper service and proper customer service... not some crap call centre in Asia somewhere...

over the past few months I've seen plenty of poor service from various ISPs so this is something I would be very passionate about.

I have a pretty good idea about how to start off this but the one thing I do need is a whole lot of $$$.

Im thinking more of a virtual provider but if you want to start from scratch that can be done too - Seth is proof of that! of course when he got out and sold it thats when it turned to crap.

Doing your best is much more important than being the best.

DonGould

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#427759 16-Jan-2011 20:32

Ragnor: I think there is a niche there for an Internode

ya, Simon and his team rock. No question that they're the kinda team I'd like to aspire to. Simon's no stranger to mixing it up and seems to help out the industry a lot. Seems like a good guy. Very approachable bunch as well.

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wjw

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#427766 16-Jan-2011 21:12

If you want to start an ISP you do understand the margins on DSL?

I started a Wireless ISP quite a few years ago now when I was only competing against Jetstream. It was easy to make money then as DSL didn't have full coverage and jetstream costed $100's.

Wouldn't be easy now, I certainly would be starting an ISP using purely wholesale DSL as my service portfolio.

DonGould

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#427769 16-Jan-2011 21:20

wjw: If you want to start an ISP you do understand the margins on DSL?

I started a Wireless ISP quite a few years ago now when I was only competing against Jetstream. It was easy to make money then as DSL didn't have full coverage and jetstream costed $100's.

Wouldn't be easy now, I certainly would be starting an ISP using purely wholesale DSL as my service portfolio.

No idea what the margin is on dsl in .nz at all. Just getting t.nz to play costs you $100k in security plus, from what I can see, a forest of paper work and don't even think about asking about copper access.

...but really my post was not about Telecom as much as about how you compete in a market where people think it's ok to win customers and deal in the way outlined in Dave's article.

What other games are going on that I just don't know about?

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robbyp

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#427791 16-Jan-2011 22:21

Bee: Im seriously considering this. starting my own isp. as long as you can come near on price all you have to do to compete in NZ at the moment would be to offer proper service and proper customer service... not some crap call centre in Asia somewhere...

over the past few months I've seen plenty of poor service from various ISPs so this is something I would be very passionate about.

I have a pretty good idea about how to start off this but the one thing I do need is a whole lot of $$$.

Im thinking more of a virtual provider but if you want to start from scratch that can be done too - Seth is proof of that! of course when he got out and sold it thats when it turned to crap.

I would imagine it would be very very difficult. Sure you can talk about bad service, but providing good service may not be easy, if you are selling on quantity, which you have to do, as the margins are quite small from what I have heard.

If you are providing an 0800 number you are not only paying staff to support that person, but you are also paying for the call. So if you cusomters ring you a few times a month, that could erode any profit you make from them. Finding good staff is also very difficult, especially when they are low paid.

freitasm

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#427803 16-Jan-2011 22:47

NonprayingMantis: "how does one even start to compete in such a market?"

by stealing confidential information apparently....

It is obvious the police should be involved in this. IANAL but it would start with the "unauthorised access to computer systems".

webnation

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#427957 17-Jan-2011 12:10

As this is already blowout, doing it in a similar way is not longer achievable, too bad. :)

it's interesting to know if any other rival isps(resellers) did the same....

oxnsox

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#427983 17-Jan-2011 12:44

But really isn't this the essence of how many businesses get out of the blocks....

An ex-employee (or or someone who has inside contacts) offers a product/service because they think the current players aren't using the whole field, and as they grow that kick-start (or seeding?) data becomes less relevant because the business creates it's own customer base and culture.

Gentlemen have been reading each others mail for years, (wikileaks anyone?) it's just something we prefer not to acknowledge.... but usually at some point the organisation is able to stand and deliver on it's own merits. Trust builds trust.

Of course if thats the way you want to run your business then how do you know you ain't employing the sort of people who are feeding your info off elsewhere too???

insane

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#428249 17-Jan-2011 22:41

If you want to start an ISP now which grows to a decent size you'll be better to start with a user base of some sort, much like how several power companies offer DSL. Starting afresh without a team of sharp employees and without good marketing is suicide IMO.

The Virtual ISP approach is certainly the way to begin as it removes the need for physical hardware and all the associated networks and systems costs to begin operations. A great example of how this combined with targeted marketing and top notch customer service works is Digital Island.

Shameless plug : Digital Island started out using Maxnet as their DSL port provider and have since grown to having many suppliers to offer some creative solutions for their customers. I believe they have also made the Deloitte Fastest 50 list a number of times in the last few years so they have managed to do something right.

Starting a Gaming ISP would be tough as many gamers also like to download a LOT! When you have too many leeches on your networks you'll saturate your DSL handover connections very quickly and at that point it's pretty much game over. You really do need to have a range or plans with light users balancing out heavy usage users.