Characteristics of the successful rural high-speed Internet service provider

To succeed in the operation of a high-speed Internet service provider, the operator must be prepared to:

1. Plan, install, operate, and maintain a new telecommunications network.
2. Manage a rapidly changing, advanced technology-based business in a fully competitive market.
3. Make continuous capital investments to maintain service parity with competition.
4. Offer differentiated services to members based on their location and willingness to pay.

Click here for a longer list of the requirements for a successful ISP.

Key Business Planning Questions

To arrive at the best possible market entry and customer retention plan, the following are the most important questions to address:

1. What kind of network should be built to make greatest use of the existing assets?
   E.g. for an electric utility, their poles, rights of way and powerlines. Or, for a municipal authority any existing fiber, water towers and tall buildings?
2. In what parts of the planned service area is it technically feasible to deliver a high-speed Internet service?  And, what percentage of the target service area can be covered by each technology e.g. Fiber, Wireless, BPL?  To get to 100% coverage, how many technologies will need to be deployed?
3. Can a price competitive service be offered profitably?
4. What business structure will have the lowest cost of capital?
   Launching the business as part of an existing company permits the use of retained earnings. Alternatively, establishing a subsidiary allows for the sale of equity to others.
5. What are the service provision regulations that will need to be addressed? E.g. purchase of licensed spectrum or local permissions to build tall towers.  Or, for utilities, what non power use of the distribution infrastructure is consistent with regulations.
6. What would the impact on the target community be of easy access to the Internet everywhere be?
7. What equipment offers the best mix of performance, reliability and interoperability?
8. Which of the equipment manufactures under consideration has the experience and installed base of devices to successfully deploy their technology? And, the financial strength to deliver the equipment?

Between the selection and purchase of the equipment and activating the first customer, there are a number of service delivery and support issues that should be considered and decisions made about.  A list of the most critical can be downloaded here.

To retain those customers, and maximize their potential value to the operator, equal weight needs to be given to the systems, procedures and their monitoring. An example of how customer touch points could be managed is available here.