Wow. Starting an ISP on credit cards and $2,500 cash. Very resourceful. I guess it also helps also knowing this stuff since you worked at a datacenter. I wonder what kind of regulations there are for something like this being wireless. Sounds like it would be a bureaucratic mess to license frequencies. Really inspiring blog.
Not the OP, but doing something similar. For fixed wireless broadband in rural areas of the US, it's actually not too onerous. The FCC designates certain frequencies as licensed or unlicensed, and the hardware options for running an ISP in the unlicensed bands have increased dramatically in the last 10 years.
The process is basically:
- The FCC designates certain rules, including power limits, for each band.
- Hardware manufacturers build to the rules, get their gear FCC-labeled.
- WISPs (Wireless ISPs) buy name-brand FCC-labeled gear.
- WISPs maintain CALEA[0] capabilities (so 3-letter agencies can spy on you).
- File form 477 with the FCC [1].
...and that's about all it takes from a regulatory standpoint. There are of course numerous other obstacles which must be overcome in the process, but red tape currently isn't the biggest one for our industry.
Interesting. I heard of CALEA in the past and wondered how CALEA is implemented.
>The IP-based "soft switches" typically do not contain a built-in CALEA intercept feature
Is there a specification you must follow? Like maybe you had a VOIP company with your own custom protocol or softphone, would you just code up some web interface where they have a login and then type in a number to see if any active calls, then click a "Listen" button then an audio stream starts playing. Or is there a well defined way for them to access the call, audio codec, etc has to be?
