2.0 Introduction

2.1 What is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that connects members of the general public to the Internet. It can be distinguished from an Information Service such as CompuServe or America Online by its emphasis on Internet tools such as USENET News, Gopher, WWW, etc. Traditional bulletin board systems (BBSs) normally don't have direct access to the Internet and can offer only limited USENET news and mail, with no other Internet services. I consider any online system a provider that has a direct Internet connection and provides access to it in one or more of the following ways:

* Unix Shell Account - Users are given the infamous "%" prompt or some variation thereof. Sometimes a simple menu is also provided, often cobbled up through various Unix utility programs. However, the basis of the system is Unix, and normally the user cannot take full advantage of the services offered without knowing at least a few Unix commands. Use of the Lynx WWW browser as a menu shell is becoming more and more common. Those who try it may want to know that some people have trouble using it with their terminal programs, so be sure to provide some way for those people to ask for help.

* Provide SLIP, CSLIP or PPP access to customers. This lets them connect up as an Internet host, using their own software. Macintosh and Microsoft Windows devotees particulary like this approach. This is the most common way to get pictures directly through the World Wide Web, although it has some disadvantages as we will see later. See the sidebar "David's Misadventures with SLIP and the exciting world of pictures".

* Provide customers with a custom BBS with specialized Internet features (newsreaders, etc).

Many people have tried to put together some form of Internet access under commercial or shareware DOS or Windows BBS software. Most that I've seen have not been notably successful at this task. In particular, the lack of high-quality newsreaders for USENET makes the systems incredibly confusing to use. The advent of off-line mail readers may help this at least somewhat; the majority of postings through BBSs come from them. Unfortunately, most off-line readers tend to mangle headers badly and are a major source of annoyance (and occasional amusement) among USENET readers. The popular QWK format is a particulary bad victim of this practice; it uppercases all subject lines and limits them to 20 characters, both considered extraordinary poor form by USENET readers. The Whaffle DOS and Unix-based BBS has created a different off-line reading format which I believe may work better for USENET applications; unfortunately, I have not yet seen it in operation. Most Whaffle operators, however, find that users consider their systems confusing and difficult to navigate.

Note that off-line reader programs, even those that work well with USENET, cannot help when it comes to using WWW or Gopher, which require real-time access to sites.

TBBS, a DOS-based BBS program, has a system called the IPAD, which is apparently a 486/66 running some specialized software and including an internal router interface. It's quite expensive, but should give TBBS sysops a leg up when it comes to managing Internet connections. As far as I can tell, however, this doesn't help much when it comes to the messaging system, which is still ghastly. It's also not frightfully cost effective, as far as I can tell.

Major BBS presently has an Internet module with severe limitations; for example, mail and news processing must still be done via UUCP (!). Based on the track records of the respective packages, I would assume that TBBS' package will be the better one. However, I think the best packages will probably be developed for Internet users by Internet system instead of existing commercial BBSs.

Incidentally, we have the usual dispute over what names to give ourselves. Sean Shapira and others would like to call us Internet Access Providers (IAPs): "Personally, I call them Internet Access Providers. They are only one class of Internet Service Provider. Others focus on providing services to the already-connected Internet community. GNN and EIT are examples of this." Since the name of the mailing list is inet-access, he may have a point here. Why don't I change the name of the FAQ, then? Because I'd just finished changing all my ISVs (Internet Service Vendors) here to ISPs! :-)

Anyone else feel strongly on this issue? If I get enough response on this issue, I'm willing to crank up M-X replace string again. :-)

2.2 Why might I want to become an ISP?

Growth, money and the glamour of it all. The sleepless nights, the 18-hour days, the opportunity to exercise your mind and get creative in the provision of imaginative services for your users.

The challenges removed in the move towards SLIP/PPP as a universal connection mode are largely restored by the creativity necessary to sell and create custom WWW sites, where considerably more money per sale is available.

2.3 Why might I not want to become an ISP?

Probably the most important reason is that competition is sharpening. Well-funded people such as Microsoft have discovered this business, and they've been highly aggressive and successful in the past. The small entreupeneurial company still has a chance to joust with the big boys due to the relatively level playing field, but the odds of success seem to be narrowing.

The capital needed can be daunting to we start-up folks. True, it's nothing compared to setting up a CompuServe or America Online, but for the individual, it's a lot of money. For the group seeking venture capital, it's a lot of pain and paperwork.

And then, once your dream starts being real, there are always the sleepless nights and the infamous battles with Sendmail and InterNetNews. The sinking feeling you might get when you're staring at a $ 2,200 router as part of a $ 3,000 a month connection, and realize that you don't quite understand the beast.

The growth of SLIP/PPP accounts, which are very much a commodity business, much like the phone or cable TV, may change the creativity element beyond recognition for many providers. Still, the so far incredible growth rates should help make up for this.

In an earlier version of this document, I mentioned the possible filtering of routes by the Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX) as a possible threat to your long-term viability as a provider. It's way past November 15th 1994 now (I'm writing this on February 6, 1995), and so far it appears that nobody's been much affected by the new changes.

Finally, if your only reason to start a provider is to make money, you probably shouldn't do it. You'll be beaten out by those of us who love the net and who are willing to work utterly ridiculous hours to make your system a success. If you don't love staring at the screen for many hours, or if you value an offline social life, the net's not for you.

2.4 A Special Sidebar: Do I REALLY need to know Unix?

I have received mail from a dismaying number of people who admit that they don't know Unix, and they don't want to learn Unix. They typically suggest that they use Windows NT or even Microsoft Windows to start a provider.

To begin with, if you don't want to learn more about computers than you ever thought existed, you don't want to become an Internet provider. You'll find yourself staying up late at night reading thick computer manuals, instead of going out to that wild new night club you heard about. You may be reading this because you think being a provider is a sure-fire business idea; in reality, there are no sure-fire business ideas. You may think you can make a billion dollars with little work; lamentably, this is not the case, in this business or anywhere else.

Still want to start a provider without learning Unix? Note, then, that the entire provider business, and the whole network of support you will be joining (including the Inet-Access mailing list) has standardized on Unix. Even trying to use another operating system for all but the most specialized purposes is well acknowledged in the ISP business as a colourful eccentricity and most likely a big waste of time and money.

You might think that not using Unix would be like using Ami Pro instead of Microsoft Word, or using OS/2 instead of DOS and Windows. This is not a frightfully good analogy, since both OS/2 and Ami Pro are fine, fully functional programs. Windows NT does not have all the functions needed to work as an Internet provider; Microsoft Windows will crash the first time you tried to expire news. Unix is proven, easy to get help on, and has a far more comprehensive network of programs and utilities available.

If you're not a real expert, you don't want to use a non-Unix operating system. If you don't know at least something about Unix, you'll have a hard time being successful as a provider. My recommendation is to become familiar with Unix through use of a shell account from a provider. You may find it easier than you think, in which case you're likely to enjoy running a Unix system. Or you'll think it's harder; in that case, you probably shouldn't be in this business at all.

More details of the pitfalls of trying to run a non-Unix Internet site are given further on, but that should give you enough to think twice.

Next section: What about business organization and raising money?