Summary: Ever want to build your own ISP? If you’re a network engineer, I bet the thought has crossed your mind now and then, because how cool would that be? Connecting people to the greatest communications network in the world.<br> Our guest today has spent most of his career building ISPs, and in fact he’s working on one right now. I got a peek a few weeks ago, and seeing this work in progress in production serving previously underserved customers was inspiring.<br> <a href="https://twitter.com/troutman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Troutman</a> is Director of Technology, ISP at Tilson Technology Management.<br> We discuss:<br> <br> * The business case for a local or regional ISP<br> * The competitive (or not-so-competitive) broadband environment<br> * The elements for a minimum viable ISP<br> * Challenges of pole access<br> * Cable plant maintenance<br> * Running afoul of squirrels and woodchucks<br> * Coping with single points of failure<br> * Services an ISP can layer on top of broadband<br> * Customer support and billing<br> * Getting to the last mile<br> * Running a Network Operations Center (NOC)<br> * More<br> <br> Sponsor: InterOptic<br> InterOptic makes high quality optical modules you can rely on. Plus, they are far cheaper than OEM optics. Save big money without compromising quality. Visit <a href="https://interoptic.com/packet-pushers">interoptic.com/packet-pushers</a>.<br> Show Links:<br> <a href="https://twitter.com/troutman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@troutman</a> – Jim Troutman on Twitter<br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtroutman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Troutman on LinkedIn</a><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/troutman/status/1328961494994792456?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Troutman’s Networking Manifesto</a> – Twitter<br> <a href="http://www.tilsontech.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tilson Technology Management</a><br> <a href="http://www.tilsontech.com/careers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tilson Technology Management Career Opportunities</a><br> <a href="http://www.nepeeringforum.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New England Peering Forum</a><br> <a href="http://nepeeringforum.org/troutman/BsidesDE-2017-Troutman-Why-Internet-Still-Working.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Why Is The Internet Still Working?</a> – Jim Troutman via the New England Peering Forum (PDF)<br> <a href="https://www.nycmesh.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NYC Mesh Project</a><br> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twe6uTwOyJo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Starting a Telephone Company in 2019, or How I Built Fiber to my Neighbors</a> – Jared Mauch, NANOG (YouTube)<br> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCDvzpbja8s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABCs of Starting A WISP</a> – YouTube<br>
