Starting a small ISP today, becoming a reseller or investing in infrastructure

[Safrica]

Hi
Everytime i need a service i look at possibily
Of finding a flexible isp that will provide great service
Or the possibility that the market could manage another player

I would like to explore this market and if can work
I will chase to get the finances

 

[Dalaw89]

Hi, man i am totally for this, been looking at mvno and the market is very young.. let me know if you wana chat about things. My thinking is the more competition the better the quality of service.

 

[Thor]

Het a Reseller account and start out domains.co.za offers reseller adsl

See if you can enter the market first then you can think of infrastructure

 

[Safrica]

Will send you a pm

 

[Safrica]

What u getting at
Do u think there is space in the market

 

[airborne]

Het a Reseller account and start out domains.co.za offers reseller adsl

See if you can enter the market first then you can think of infrastructure

What are the margins like, must be paper thin and then the continuous headache of customer support, dealing with Telkom etc?

 

[Thor]

What are the margins like, must be paper thin and then the continuous headache of customer support, dealing with Telkom etc?

What makes that more difficult than investing in infrastructure or are you referring to the idea of another ISP

 

[HavocXphere]

A mybb member has started an ISP before (two actually if you can't the "fibre" WISP one).

The successful one had significant skills and contacts on their side though. Plus superior spelling skills. /runs

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Plus superior spelling skills. /runs

U no nothing, get rekt.

 

[Safrica]

A mybb member has started an ISP before (two actually if you can't the "fibre" WISP one).

The successful one had significant skills and contacts on their side though. Plus superior spelling skills. /runs

Hopefully we can start a third that can bring in value

 

[SauRoNZA]

Hopefully we can start a third that can bring in value

Cheap <> Value

Also you probably can't beat Afrihost there, so it's a losing game.

 

[MickeyD]

Cheap <> Value

Also you probably can't beat Afrihost there, so it's a losing game.

Spot on. Will need very deep pockets if he wants to compete on price.

Will have to be a niche service provider... what can he offer that will draw a customer away from other ISPs but not on price?

 

[saturnz]

I'm in the process of starting a non profit ISP/reseller.

Not only is it non profit, but if I get my way, you will need no upfront capital to start and just about anyone could start it.

I will see how things go but I'm pretty confident I will make significant progress this year, having already done something similiar in my building.

 

[Thor]

I'm in the process of starting a non profit ISP/reseller.

Not only is it non profit, but if I get way, you will need no upfront capital to start and just about anyone could start it.

If successful I will let you know.

Interesting, where does your funding come from?

 

[saturnz]

Interesting, where does your funding come from?

From the end users themselves, effectively I'm trying to create localised co-ops to supply internet to the members themselves.

 

[Thor]

From the end users themselves, effectively I'm trying to create co-ops to supply internet to the members themselves.

Perhaps I'm understanding wrongly.

Are you going to still charge people for the Internet just without the markup or are you going to start a npo where you supply free or heavily subsidized Internet to rural communities and will be looking for government funding?

 

[Genisys]

Perhaps I'm understanding wrongly.

Are you going to still charge people for the Internet just without the markup or are you going to start a npo where you supply free or heavily subsidized Internet to rural communities and will be looking for government funding?

NPO doesn't mean free (anything). It just means the profit isn't being used to buy nice and shiny cars and assets. If you want a free network, look at CTWug. They are also an NPO, but also rely on donations to keep equipment running.

 

[Thor]

NPO doesn't mean free (anything). It just means the profit isn't being used to buy nice and shiny cars and assets. If you want a free network, look at CTWug. They are also an NPO, but also rely on donations to keep equipment running.

I know what a npo is, I'm just trying to figure out what OPs thing is about. NPOs are not a easy to run thing so why is his game here why invest all that time. What is the goal he has to create a npo isp?

 

[saturnz]

I know what a npo is, I'm just trying to figure out what OPs thing is about. NPOs are not a easy to run thing so why is his game here why invest all that time. What is the goal he has to create a npo isp?

because I got all the time in the world to do these type of things

the goal is simply to undermine those who charge more than R400pm for decent uncapped internet.

you can call it creative destruction if you will, there are other secondary goals too but destruction is the one that brings me the most pleasure.

 

[Thor]

because I got all the time in the world to do these type of things

the goal is simply to undermine those who charge more than R400pm for decent uncapped internet.

you can call it creative destruction if you will

I like it.

I'll help you with the website (front end) and marketing for free.