ISP Overview
Introduction
Virtual ISP (VISP)
Why GNU/Linux?
The Telco and the Backbone
Remote Access
Servers and Other Equipment
Your ISP's Home Page (Portal)
Frequently Asked Questions
To put your ISP into operation you will need the services of your local telephone company and an Internet backbone provider. Both services may be provided by the telephone company.
If you wish to offer dial-up service, then from the phone company you will need T1, E1, or PRI lines for incoming phone calls. Every T1 line has 24 dial-up lines, E1 lines have 30 dial-up lines, American PRI has 23 lines, and European PRI has 30 lines. So, for example, to provide 240 dial-up lines for subscribers you will need 10 T1 lines.
Be sure you do not get any long distance service on your dial-up lines. If the phone company assigns a long distance company to the lines you will get a base charge for long distance for each line every month. You may find yourself getting a different price quoted with each conversation, so be sure to get a price in writing if you are going to depend on it for your business plan.
On the other end of the network, you need a connection to the Internet. This connection can be a T1, E1, PRI, T3, E3, or an optical fibre (OC) line. The type of line you get will depend on the number of subscribers you plan to serve.