From owner-freebsd-isp@FreeBSD.ORG Fri May 6 15:21:07 2005 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-isp@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 623EA16A4D3 for ; Fri, 6 May 2005 15:21:07 +0000 (GMT) Received: from transact.bm (mail.transact.bm [209.240.40.253]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id BD37B43D31 for ; Fri, 6 May 2005 15:21:06 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from lists@101.net) Received: from [207.2.99.12] (HELO INFOCAST) by transact.bm (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 4.2) with ESMTP id 32000; Fri, 06 May 2005 12:22:15 -0300 From: "RH Lists" To: "'kings fool'" , Date: Fri, 6 May 2005 12:21:05 -0300 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook, Build 11.0.5510 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441 Thread-Index: AcVRrf1A7iso10oNT6yI/aFglIaXpAAn/zlg In-Reply-To: <20050505200531.88476.qmail@web54601.mail.yahoo.com> X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 0518-4, 06/05/2005), Outbound message X-Antivirus-Status: Clean Message-ID: Subject: RE: info on starting an isp X-BeenThere: freebsd-isp@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Internet Services Providers List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 06 May 2005 15:21:07 -0000 Chris, Good luck. With the possible exception of the prairies, Canada is a terrible place to run an independent ISP. Trust me, I used to own one (1995-2001). The telcos and cable companies now own the residential business. You can't get on cable, and the margin on DSL is too slim to run a business unless you have several thousand clients. Wireless can work, but it is generally not cost-competitive with DSL or Cable. In general, residential clients care only about price, not quality. So you need to be in an area where there is no high-speed competition. On the corporate side, there is a possibility for profit, if you can get creative, and provide better support than the big guys. Now, I'm running the network at an ISP in Bermuda. Here, there are still margins. And the weather is better :) Rob -----Original Message----- From: owner-freebsd-isp@freebsd.org [mailto:owner-freebsd-isp@freebsd.org] On Behalf Of kings fool Sent: May 5, 2005 5:06 PM To: freebsd-isp@freebsd.org Subject: info on starting an isp Hi, I am looking for recommended sources of information (either electronic or print) on the technical and practical (particularly in Canada) aspects of starting an isp. I realize there are many publications out there on the subject, so I'm just seeking recommendations of publications you found most useful. Thanks, Chris.