Ask HN: How do you create an ISP?

There was bunch of articles about this on HN lately... here is one: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/08/man-who-built-is... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32411493)

Home ISPs (tier 3) have their own ISPs (tier 2 or tier 1) so you'd essentially just contact a tier 2/1 and pay for a connection

It's not that difficult to do, but does require a certain level of knowledge. Asking what kind of hardware and software it takes indicates you don't have the prerequisite knowledge and likely need an experienced network administrator to help you get started.

At the end of the day it's like any other business, you start it, get staff that knows how to make it happen and do it. The networking knowledge is pretty straight forward to learn. If your interested in putting fiber or other wires in the ground or on poles you may have some utility regulations that can be difficult to navigate. Especially if you need to cross rivers or use bridges.

Really this kind of a complex question to answer as the specifics matter.

The basics are you need an upstream connection (preferably one that allows resale), a way to connect to your customers (this was easy in the days of dialup, could be easy or hard with RF depending on details, and is probably hard if you need to run a hardline), and a router or something and billing software.

You only need paperwork if you're in a paperwork heavy society and/or if you're going to use public right-of-way to pull cables.

Some quality discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32411493

Somebody also shared this guide on building a wireless ISP in that thread: https://startyourownisp.com/

Technically it's not difficult (with some research) - buy transit DIAs from local providers, get some IP resources, peer, and lay fiber or build out fixed wireless.

I suspect the hardest part is regulatory, and doing customer service.