Hi Dave and thanks for the input. See below for comments: On Tuesday 18 August 2009, David Storandt wrote: > Any business plan should look at current needs and any gaps... there > are a bunch of competitors specifically in Stowe already > (over?)serving the area, covering the range of typical bandwidth/value > marks - Stowe Cable, Fairpoint DSL, Great Auk Wireless (they bought > Power Shift's Wireless business earlier this year), and Power Shift > DSL (not including dial or satellite here). All are well established > businesses that have sizable marketing engines and market niches to > push up against. Not impossible but tougher than a less-served > community further north. True as that may be, I have yet to find any blanket wireless coverage in Stowe; just sporadic hot-spots. I believe this is because it is against the grain of the commercial interests to promote it and as such, unawares to the public at large.
And considering the accumulated wealth there, am surprised (or not) that
nothing has been proposed.
FWIW, my intention was to start w/Stowe as a model for more 'out-lying' areas;
proving that
it can be done cost effectively 'where the $ is' first.
>
> In your biz plan, do you have a rough cost estimate for such a project
> - salaries, equipment (routers, wireless APs, servers), rents/leases
> (telecom circuits, office space, rooftops, bandwidth), and company
> overhead? That should give you a rough revenue target to make your
> project float when looking at your surveys.
Only insofar as having comparable numbers obtained from similiar projects
around the country.
But there are gaps to fill in regarding specifics which won't make sense unless
there is an interest
in developing this.
>
> A better model for Stowe may be to look for a "sponsor" or "anchor
> tenant" to serve as a lead customer and indirectly your financier.
Agreed, and I intend to do so if there is enough interest in the community to
make it
look exciting.
> I would look to the ski resorts - they have cash and a more focused need
> analysis already - for a campus wireless to kick things off, then if
> you want to push into the community after that go for it after you've
> started to get a rhythm going.
Unfortunately, the resort is too far from the village warrant a simple solution.
maybe a trango or other DSS from the Logde as a backhaul. But i want to focus
on the village 1st.
>
> My two cents...
> -D
Thanks again, keep responding and i'll give you a nickel:)
I know we've had this discussion before, and I'll continue asserting until the
cows come home:
Wireless is the future, community wireless is an established workable model. It
may not suffice (yet)
for all things networking (a la triple-play) but it can, affordably,
interconnect a community in ways
that fixed nets cannot. Specially the ISP model of 1-to-many AOT a peerage
arrangement.
I certainly don't have all (crap, not even a fraction of all) the answers. But
they are out there and they do work.
I believe that is somewhat indisputable. I just wish our collective minds could
tap into that experience to make it
work here, now.
Sincerely,
Rion
3010 Rte 109
Waterville, VT 05492
email: rion_at_dluz.com
web: http://dluz.com/Rion/
AIM/Jabber/Google: riondluz
Phone: 802.644.2255
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/126/769
"Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good;
and when it is bad, it is better than nothing." -- Dick Brandon
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