I heard that IBM for various reasons cannot decide to partner with just one linux distibution, some distributions dont cover all processors, can't be seen to favour one over the other..... BUT if it came down to it, which distribution would you market with your hardware as the best all round solution, and why?
I see a lot people saying "its not going to happen", "quit now before you loose your money", "the ISP market is all wrapped up".... these are all probably true if you are in the US.... the Australian market appears to be wide open from what I see.
Today in Australia would look to be equivalent to the US six years ago.
Tech support is going to be your pain in the ass. Try to do it by email or web, and then for the boy's who want you to install their modem for them over the phone, you setup a 900 number (like a dollar a minute), make them pay dearly for the privilage. That way you would make money out of the tech support side of things.
You could run your entire ISP setup off a 900 number. Run add's in the papers, "No subscription internet access", here's the number, login as "user" password is "password". Again it would pay you to run the service.
There is no long term advantage to that kind of setup, people will only use it when badly stuck.
A better plan of action would be to get setup with some venture capital that will carry you for 5 years. Run the service as a "free" service. Run your tech support off a 900 number. Build up a large customer base by giving out as many CD's as possible.
Where the money comes in.....
1) Tech Support, pull a few cables occasionaly to fund that new Lexus.
2) Advertising. If you're smart, your install wizard application will configure all the user's browsers homepages to be your website. Sell banner advertising.
3) Gather statistics, and play the local loop carrier game.
I can guarantee you that if you get a significantly large customer base that you will be bought out by a telecom company within 5 years, yielding you your retirement money.
The statistics that you want to try and gather is who's phone service does your clients use? If there is more than one carrier in your area, and the majoriy of your clients are on carrier A, then you gather the stats, you approach carrier B, and you formulate an agreement like this...
Line rental for diallin = A
Line rental for leased line trunks = B
Running costs per quarter = C
bigger lexus = D
Tell carrier b that if they pay you A+B+C+D+ another 100K per quarter, that you will switch your lines over to their service.
This is what the ISP game is all about nowadays. Telecom companies local loop interconnect fees.
If Joe redneck spends on average 5 mins on the phone a day, and then suddenly gets a webTv and now spends from 9pm till 3am surfing porn, then there is more money to be made from an interconnect fee to carrier B's network than there is revenue to carrier A for having joe redneck as a client.
Watch out for new telco's on the local scene, they are hungry for revenues, and will pay large sums for guaranteed interconnect fees.
Once you sell the "interconnect" benefit to the telco's you will be guaranteed a new lexus every quarter, and can use the revenues from the 900 number tech support to fuel it.
Pretty soon the telco's will get tired of paying you the quarterly fee, and will make you a brown paper envelope personal donation, along with a proper business buyout deal. This will be enough to retire on, and you can spend the rest of your days cleaning and polishing the extensive collection of lexus's in your back garden.
Somthing that would be pretty cool to work on "in the bush" of Australia, would be to take the bush telegraph to the net scene. Provide internet via packet radio. Probably work out too expensive. But it would be cool.
Anyway, best of luck, you can do it, and dont listen to the knockers, they couldnt begin to achieve the sucess that you are about to build.
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I heard that IBM for various reasons cannot decide to partner with just one linux distibution, some distributions dont cover all processors, can't be seen to favour one over the other..... BUT if it came down to it, which distribution would you market with your hardware as the best all round solution, and why?
Today in Australia would look to be equivalent to the US six years ago.
Tech support is going to be your pain in the ass. Try to do it by email or web, and then for the boy's who want you to install their modem for them over the phone, you setup a 900 number (like a dollar a minute), make them pay dearly for the privilage. That way you would make money out of the tech support side of things.
You could run your entire ISP setup off a 900 number. Run add's in the papers, "No subscription internet access", here's the number, login as "user" password is "password". Again it would pay you to run the service.
There is no long term advantage to that kind of setup, people will only use it when badly stuck.
A better plan of action would be to get setup with some venture capital that will carry you for 5 years. Run the service as a "free" service. Run your tech support off a 900 number. Build up a large customer base by giving out as many CD's as possible.
Where the money comes in.....
1) Tech Support, pull a few cables occasionaly to fund that new Lexus.
2) Advertising. If you're smart, your install wizard application will configure all the user's browsers homepages to be your website. Sell banner advertising.
3) Gather statistics, and play the local loop carrier game.
I can guarantee you that if you get a significantly large customer base that you will be bought out by a telecom company within 5 years, yielding you your retirement money.
The statistics that you want to try and gather is who's phone service does your clients use? If there is more than one carrier in your area, and the majoriy of your clients are on carrier A, then you gather the stats, you approach carrier B, and you formulate an agreement like this...
Line rental for diallin = A
Line rental for leased line trunks = B
Running costs per quarter = C
bigger lexus = D
Tell carrier b that if they pay you A+B+C+D+ another 100K per quarter, that you will switch your lines over to their service.
This is what the ISP game is all about nowadays. Telecom companies local loop interconnect fees.
If Joe redneck spends on average 5 mins on the phone a day, and then suddenly gets a webTv and now spends from 9pm till 3am surfing porn, then there is more money to be made from an interconnect fee to carrier B's network than there is revenue to carrier A for having joe redneck as a client.
Watch out for new telco's on the local scene, they are hungry for revenues, and will pay large sums for guaranteed interconnect fees.
Once you sell the "interconnect" benefit to the telco's you will be guaranteed a new lexus every quarter, and can use the revenues from the 900 number tech support to fuel it.
Pretty soon the telco's will get tired of paying you the quarterly fee, and will make you a brown paper envelope personal donation, along with a proper business buyout deal. This will be enough to retire on, and you can spend the rest of your days cleaning and polishing the extensive collection of lexus's in your back garden.
Somthing that would be pretty cool to work on "in the bush" of Australia, would be to take the bush telegraph to the net scene. Provide internet via packet radio. Probably work out too expensive. But it would be cool.
Anyway, best of luck, you can do it, and dont listen to the knockers, they couldnt begin to achieve the sucess that you are about to build.
D.B.