No subject

are suffering interlinking ourselves to see how difficult it is going to be
to roll out a "last mile" solution - especially for a "small provider" who
may not have massive funds...

However, massive funds or not - to a business who's core will be to provide
Internet services - $10,000 is chicken feed - and the least of your worries!
Anyway, previously you had to have a carrier license to have an ISP so you
had to pay for it anyway - and how many ISP's are there out there?
So this change of carrier license isn't necessarily going to impact too many
right now - sure it might mean that technically we are now allowed to offer
Internet services via Melbourne Wireless services - so we benefit as this
$10,000 that was a inhibitor is now void - but Melbourne Wireless is an
Association - thus shouldn't make a profit. 
Obviously these Proxim cards are available at auction because some poor
[sic] company went belly up from trying to make a quid out of wireless - and
failed!
But remember: $10,000 is nothing but capital expenditure to a business -
gee, one support person alone is worth $30,000+.. so what is $10,000 if it
is your core business? What about how much it costs to erect a tower alone
in the CBD! $10,000 - BAH!

THEREFORE the proxim cards are available to us probably BECAUSE a WISP went
belly up and I will put a dollar on that WISP will have had a carrier
license too (because they had to legally) So, either they were badly managed
- or.... they are proof of just how damn hard it is to provide a basic
wireless service by the "small provider" (which is what - the way I read it
- Alston's release is framed around).
It's gotta be pretty hard to run a wireless-based ISP business unless you
are a "big boy"..

For example:
The Augustine Center (the big "church"-like building on Burwood Road,
Hawthorn (opp. Swinburn)) just got auctioned off yesterday. I could approach
the people who bought it an offer to lease just the tip of the tower from
them. Now, I run a Bigpond ADSL Link into the tower and install a router;
Plug the router into my AP and wack up an antenna up the spire.. now - hands
up how many I can reach?
OK - I should get about 20 businesses up and down Burwood road, and, lets
say about 30 home people.... is it enough for me to make a profit? I have to
make at least $40K for me to survive, and I have to pay my Internet bill
(let's say $40,000/year at 1.5Mb - Telstra minimum=$32K pa) - a support person
($30,000) Equipment ($10,000) and General Office expenses etc ($5000pa) =
~$125,000 pa expenses.. Thus: $125,000/50= $2500/customer = $208/mth cost.
Let's add some profit @ $100/customer = ~$300/mnth.

Are you prepared to pay me $300 a month to have a wireless service at home
that provides 1.5Mb tops? (oh yea - and note - I didn't factor in $10,000
for Carrier license, the building lease or any backup links, servers etc
stuff required). Do you think I can get even 50 people signed up LOS? Can I
even GET 50 people LOS (remember - they will have to spend $$$ to get
connected too). What is my competition - ADSL? Cable? How much?

I think this is all harder than anyone actually realises.... and it might be
more aimed for the "bush" - I know people in Seymour/Tallarook who would die
to have an ISP providing even a reliable 50Kbs to them (telephone lines are
hopeless when you factor in Electric Fences)! And they would be prepared to
pay for it too! But is there a business case for someone to do it? Telstra
is not exactly rushing... I wonder why?
How many WISPs are actually running now and providing services to the
public?

My $0.02c

-----Original Message-----
From: Jamie Lovick [mailto:jalovick at doof.org]
Sent: Friday, 20 September 2002 3:24 PM
To: Jason Hecker
Cc: melbwireless at wireless.org.au; syd-wireless at lists.sydneywireless.com;
mesh at itee.uq.edu.au
Subject: Re: [MLB-WIRELESS] Grays Wireless Auction FYI