Re: [WISPA] way OT: Did I mention I love the WISP business?
Umthanks Patrick. :^) I'm not afraid to appreciate you for what you have done for us and the challenge you put before us. With regards to the big money types, I have some additional perspective from a slightly different viewpoint. The big money is definitely coming in this direction. Two years ago there were suits sniffing around. Last year, a lot of little guys started to get consolidated into bigger operators. This year you will see massive investment start by existing companies, and probably a few startups with lots of money behind them. I thought that I had built a fairly large WISP operation. 50 or APs, covering about 40,000 square miles, good back office operation, steadily growing subscriber base. It took me three years to get there, and that was putting in a lot of late nights and maxing the credit cards and banker's patience to get it done. One of my consulting clients is building a network about the same size as mine, covering about the same amount of area and offering a very similar set of services. The difference is they will have it done within 90 days. 90 FRICKIN DAYS Money, human resources and existing infrastructure are all being leveraged into the creation of an uber-WISP that represents a pretty natural and seamless evolution of what most WISPs have been doing for a few years now. On their scale, it makes total financial sense - this scale seems huge to me, but it fits under their misc expenses line item to them - sort of an interesting side bet that everyone is watching. If the initial deployment goes well, there are 400+ more towers in the plan. Its a little daunting, but I'm not one to back down from an interesting challenge. Sometimes I think that WISP operators were just beta-testers for the business model that is about to hit our industry and turn it from a hobby business into a money machine. There are other models out there, but I think the unlicensed one is going to have more legs than the others. Even if we don't get more unlicensed spectrum, innovations like 5mhz channels and more intelligent radios are going to give us the functional equivalent of a lot more spectrum. Once 5.4-5.6 is added into the mix, there will be something like 60 non-overlapping channels of unlicensed spectrum available with 5mhz channels. With all of the skills that we have been honing over the last few years learning how to deal with interference and work around others, this should give us enough capacity to meet the demand of customers, and just as importantly the investors who want to see a plan for growth. I would put that up against just about any licensed broadband wireless plan out there, save possibly the ones aimed at the very high end market. Kevin Suitor from Redline once told me that this is a seven year industry (I think that was the right number of years, but I could be wrong). He said that the first couple of years would be fun, with a lot of new blood and new ideas. Then the weaker ones would drop out and consolidation would start as the industry started to mature. Then the big guys would start buying out the consolidators and building up their own networks. And by year seven it will be a commoditized and boring business, with stable cash flows and standardized services/technology. Then it will be time to find something else to do. I am still operating my WISP operation, but I am also leveraging the skills from the last few years to maximize my opportunity in the wireless broadband industry. I know of lots of other WISPs that are doing the same thing, and hopefully there will be plenty of reward for our work. We should all be aware of what is coming and what we can do to make the best of it. Good night, and good luck, Matt Larsen vistabeam.com Patrick Leary wrote: Fair warning, a post like this reflects a large ego by its very nature, but it comes from a committed champion of WISPs none-the-lessFor God's sake, please don't post any thanks for your efforts type replies. I'm not fishing for them or public appreciation in general, though I do appreciate the thoughts of those so inclined. Those inclined to be critical, go for it, but offlist is best as this post is gag-worthy as it is. I just wanted to fully explain why I do what I do, wrong or not. So after all this rancor and railing, I wanted to close today with a post about some of things I love about this business and WISPs in particular. Let me explain it by telling you that for me it is not unlike when I was an enlisted soldier in the Army (alas, too many years ago). In the military one lives among people from all walks of life; it was the rule, not the exception, that even in a unit as small as any one platoon I'd be among former inner-city gang bangers, cowboys, country boys, beach bums, suburban college drop-outs (I was one of those at the time), hillbillies, former refugees, and a few Puerto Ricans and Samoans.
RE: [WISPA] way OT: Did I mention I love the WISP business?
Matt, Nice post. This is exactly what the two-way radio, paging and cellular/pcs industries did. For those of us who were around to witness that, this is familiar territory. If you need some tools to help you manage your big projects hit me off list. Might be able to save you some hair pulling and white knuckle times. You'll have fun managing the fast paced large projects. It's real fun to see things come to completion in such a short time after you had to fight over a very long period the first time. Thank You, Brian Webster -Original Message- From: Matt Larsen - Lists [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 3:20 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] way OT: Did I mention I love the WISP business? Umthanks Patrick. :^) I'm not afraid to appreciate you for what you have done for us and the challenge you put before us. With regards to the big money types, I have some additional perspective from a slightly different viewpoint. The big money is definitely coming in this direction. Two years ago there were suits sniffing around. Last year, a lot of little guys started to get consolidated into bigger operators. This year you will see massive investment start by existing companies, and probably a few startups with lots of money behind them. I thought that I had built a fairly large WISP operation. 50 or APs, covering about 40,000 square miles, good back office operation, steadily growing subscriber base. It took me three years to get there, and that was putting in a lot of late nights and maxing the credit cards and banker's patience to get it done. One of my consulting clients is building a network about the same size as mine, covering about the same amount of area and offering a very similar set of services. The difference is they will have it done within 90 days. 90 FRICKIN DAYS Money, human resources and existing infrastructure are all being leveraged into the creation of an uber-WISP that represents a pretty natural and seamless evolution of what most WISPs have been doing for a few years now. On their scale, it makes total financial sense - this scale seems huge to me, but it fits under their misc expenses line item to them - sort of an interesting side bet that everyone is watching. If the initial deployment goes well, there are 400+ more towers in the plan. Its a little daunting, but I'm not one to back down from an interesting challenge. Sometimes I think that WISP operators were just beta-testers for the business model that is about to hit our industry and turn it from a hobby business into a money machine. There are other models out there, but I think the unlicensed one is going to have more legs than the others. Even if we don't get more unlicensed spectrum, innovations like 5mhz channels and more intelligent radios are going to give us the functional equivalent of a lot more spectrum. Once 5.4-5.6 is added into the mix, there will be something like 60 non-overlapping channels of unlicensed spectrum available with 5mhz channels. With all of the skills that we have been honing over the last few years learning how to deal with interference and work around others, this should give us enough capacity to meet the demand of customers, and just as importantly the investors who want to see a plan for growth. I would put that up against just about any licensed broadband wireless plan out there, save possibly the ones aimed at the very high end market. Kevin Suitor from Redline once told me that this is a seven year industry (I think that was the right number of years, but I could be wrong). He said that the first couple of years would be fun, with a lot of new blood and new ideas. Then the weaker ones would drop out and consolidation would start as the industry started to mature. Then the big guys would start buying out the consolidators and building up their own networks. And by year seven it will be a commoditized and boring business, with stable cash flows and standardized services/technology. Then it will be time to find something else to do. I am still operating my WISP operation, but I am also leveraging the skills from the last few years to maximize my opportunity in the wireless broadband industry. I know of lots of other WISPs that are doing the same thing, and hopefully there will be plenty of reward for our work. We should all be aware of what is coming and what we can do to make the best of it. Good night, and good luck, Matt Larsen vistabeam.com Patrick Leary wrote: Fair warning, a post like this reflects a large ego by its very nature, but it comes from a committed champion of WISPs none-the-lessFor God's sake, please don't post any thanks for your efforts type replies. I'm not fishing for them or public appreciation in general, though I do appreciate the thoughts of those so inclined. Those inclined to be critical, go for it, but offlist is best as this post is gag-worthy as it is. I
[WISPA] way OT: Did I mention I love the WISP business?
Fair warning, a post like this reflects a large ego by its very nature, but it comes from a committed champion of WISPs none-the-lessFor God's sake, please don't post any thanks for your efforts type replies. I'm not fishing for them or public appreciation in general, though I do appreciate the thoughts of those so inclined. Those inclined to be critical, go for it, but offlist is best as this post is gag-worthy as it is. I just wanted to fully explain why I do what I do, wrong or not. So after all this rancor and railing, I wanted to close today with a post about some of things I love about this business and WISPs in particular. Let me explain it by telling you that for me it is not unlike when I was an enlisted soldier in the Army (alas, too many years ago). In the military one lives among people from all walks of life; it was the rule, not the exception, that even in a unit as small as any one platoon I'd be among former inner-city gang bangers, cowboys, country boys, beach bums, suburban college drop-outs (I was one of those at the time), hillbillies, former refugees, and a few Puerto Ricans and Samoans. Outside of the service, we had little in common, or less. But there we all wore green. We all toiled in the paradoxical boredom of maintain gear and training, largely in the hope that we'd really never need to use those things we kept squared away. My brothers-in-arms could get on my nerves second only to my little brother, and I often found myself apologizing to the locals overseas in the wake of my peers' youthful boorishness and cluelessness about offending our host nationals. But put those guys together and they could do anything, they could build a machine from the dirt; they could solve any problem. I discovered among them artists, musicians, and any number of wonderous talents. I would have fought alongside with any of them (well, almost) and Lord knows I broke up more fights than I can remember many a late night out, as happens when young, fit and hard-partying men get bored and get stupid. But because I loved and respected them, I challenged them and did what I could to pull out their excellence. The camaraderie and sense of mission we shared was indescribable, as were the frustrations and conflicts engendered by the nature of tasks and mission. This market and WISPs are not unlike that to me. I have the great joy of meeting, knowing, and working with some of the most interesting people imaginable. WISPs are people that by sheer force of their will and stubbornness create their own realities. You are not corporate automatons working just some job to earn your 3 hots and a cot. You genuinely care about your communities, and with rare exceptions, you are not just looking for the quick hit off the backs of those your service. I get that, have always gotten that and I get enormous professional and personal satisfaction knowing I am playing and have played a not inconsequential role in literally nurturing this market. I've had the joy of witnessing and participating in the growth of many, many WISPs regardless of their vendor affiliation - complex and passionate people like John Scrivner, aka Scriv, from his first moments in this business to his current role as WISP sage and literal grandfather. This market and my work have earned me the friendships of a fantastic cast of characters that enrich my life on a daily basis. I live here in the vendor world though, and while I appreciate you may have perspectives to which I cannot have, I am also daily witness to what is happening in the other sides of this business, the really big money rolling in. And while I know many of you are happy to remain small, and there is zero wrong with and nothing to disparage about that, some of that money IS going to some of your peers who have who have decided they want to break out of the I'm-just-a-little-guy mindset enough to actually do it. Nothing but you prevents any of you that would like to do the same from doing it. It is all about your choices and your desire. That should be empowering. Your success is NOT in the hands of the FCC or any other entity; it's in your hands. I've been here a long time in this space and I watch with some measure of pain as the WISP community at large has a hell of a time learning from its mistakes. I have my very first posts archived about an FCC I intentionally started on the old isp-wireless list (there was no other) back in April of 2000 and the issues are just the same. The same characteristics that makes WISPs can-do and self-sufficient is the same thing that fosters a fatal flaw - that's an abject refusal by so many to accept authority or otherwise conform to certain norms. WISPs are sort of like guerillas and in the event you can manage to organize long enough to defeat the disciplined forces that threaten you, or at least carve out a solid niche, your nature makes you prone then to again factionalize (like we've seen happen before). I want to do what I can to
