What Is ISP And How To Become An ISP?
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider which can be a business unit that provides access to the Internet. ISPs are grouped in several categories, such as Commercial, Community-owned, Non-profit or just privately owned. Internet services routinely provided by ISPs comprise Internet access, Internet transit, Domain name (registration), Web hosting, Usenet service and Colocation or Co-location.
Internet Access
May be defined as the process of connecting to the internet via PCs, laptops or mobile devices by enterprises. The process enables people to avail internet services/web-based services at an assortment of speeds. Although it started with slow-speed dial-up system, internet access technology has changed since, providing faster and more reliable alternatives. As of now, broadband technologies (cable internet and ADSL) are extensively used for internet access.
Internet Transit
Allows network traffic to pass over or ‘transit’ a computer network generally used to connect a smaller ISP to the larger Internet.
Domain Registration
Allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible through the World Wide Web. Web hosts, however, provide space on a server owned or leased for use by customers, as also offer internet connectivity.
Usenet
Is somewhat is akin to Bulletin Board System (BBS) and is considered as the forerunner of Internet Forums that are so popular now.
Colocation
Permits you to place your server machine in someone else’s rack and share his/her bandwidth. Even though this arrangement often costs more than regular web hosting, yet is lesser than a similar amount of bandwidth into your own business site.
How To Become An ISP In Bhubaneswar
To be very precise, there are two distinct ways by which you may initiate a business as an ISP or Internet Service Provider in Bhubaneswar. One way entails operating as a virtual provider, reselling an established ISP’s services under a different brand name. The other – a facility-based ISP will involve owning/renting, operating and maintaining a facility along with all the equipment that is needed to support an Internet service network.
Operating As a Virtual ISP
To operate as a virtual ISP in Bhubaneswar you may not need a brick-and-mortar outfit but you surely need to enter into a formal agreement with an established facility-based provider who will provide the necessary connectivity services at a discounted price. It will then be up to you to resell the services at a markup to your own customer under your own brand name and generate the necessary cash flow to run the business. However, here you are likely to encounter a fairly serious issue. Since most established ISPs entering into an agreement with you will insist on your assurance of a minimum customer volume, you may have to plunge into it blindfold, as a newcomer in the trade you may not have any idea of your future customer base. However, a preliminary market survey will embolden you to go for it right away.
Operating As A Facility-Based ISP
In order to operate as a facility-based ISP in Bhubaneswar, you would, first of all, need a brick-and-mortar base to house the equipment required to provide the connectivity service that includes, routers, servers, modems, to name a few. You will also need an uninterrupted power supply that includes standing by the generator, as also an air conditioning system to keep the equipment in full working order. What’s more, you cannot afford to ignore security measures, such as an installation of surveillance cameras for the protection of your entire system.
ISP
The next step towards forming a facility-based in Bhubaneswar involves building the network infrastructure, while at the center of it is the Ethernet switch. Apart from enabling equipment from different sources to communicate with each other, it marks the distribution point from which the ISP becomes able to provide local network access via modems and remote-access servers. Also, a router will be required to connect the ISP’s local network to the Internet, while servers will be needed to control the ingoing and outgoing traffic associated with Web hosting plus user services like e-mail. Incidentally, at the time of building the network infrastructure, it would be a better idea to consider a modular approach, which will make it easier to accommodate later capacity growth with the addition of components, instead of reconfiguring the complete network.
How to become an ISP in Bhubaneswar (Short-cut method)
Here are a few tips to help you become an ISP in Bhubaneswar overnight.
Tip # 1:
Locate a suitable building to house the ISP’s data center. It should preferably have raised floors to route cables.
Tip # 2:
Beg, borrow or steal UPS units, standby generator set, and HVAC unit. The UPS and the standby generator set will become helpful when there is a power shortage (from utility services), while the HVAC unit will let the equipment run faultlessly.
Tip # 3:
Enter into a peering contract with an established Internet provider. The ISP must have its own connection to the Internet via peering arrangements. [Peering incidentally refers to the arrangement of traffic exchange between ISPs. Larger ISPs with their own ‘backbone’ networks allow traffic from sundry other large ISPs in exchange for traffic on their ‘backbone’, while they also exchange traffic with smaller or greenhorn ISPs in order to reach regional end points].
Tip # 4:
Buy your own hardware to minimize trouble.
TIP # 5:
Buy high-speed fiber optic lines from neighboring telecommunications utility to connect to the established Internet provider.
Tip # 6:
Buy, install and configure enterprise-grade routers, switches, and computers, as otherwise, your customers will complain about poor and erratic speed.
Tip # 7:
If the ISP is selling Internet DSL connectivity to consumers, set up a custom installation process whereby customer orders for service are routed to the local telecommunications utility for connection over the telephone system.
Tip # 8:
If the ISP is selling web-hosting services, configure the computers to run as a virtual private server (VPS) so that customers can host their own websites in their own virtual instance at the data center.
Bottom line
Becoming an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not an easy task. The biggest impediment to becoming an ISP is the large amount of capital that is required for the equipment and building. Network bandwidth, air conditioning, and standby power plant are all resources that have to be separately arranged and paid for in cash in most cases.
