Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 11:54:37 -0600 (CST) From: Joe Greco <jgreco@brasil.moneng.mei.com> To: enrico@mikimen.com (Enrico Brunetta) Cc: freebsd-isp@freebsd.org Subject: Re: need suggestions on ISP costs Message-ID: <199602271754.LAA22780@brasil.moneng.mei.com> In-Reply-To: <199602271529.JAA15102@dc.mikimen.com> from "Enrico Brunetta" at Feb 27, 96 09:29:52 am
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> Hello there, > > my partner and I just had this idea of becoming some sort of an ISP using our > existing FreeBSD computers (a couple of P133 with Adapt.2940 and around 4Gb of > disk space). > > What we would like to do is to provide internet access to a restricted > number of ISDN users (we already have around 10 friends interested) for > a cheaper rate than the ongoing ISP rate here in town (Austin,Tx). We > already have office space and computer equipment. > > This venture is not meant to be profitable for us, and we are trying to > determine what are the expenses to set it up. Once determined how much it'll > cost, we'll decide what is the minimum number of people that we need to involve > to split the amount. (Hopefully it's not going to be a HUGE number :) Okay, so you're just looking at costs. > We might be interested in leasing a T1. > > What is an average price for leasing a line ? It is generally distance and contract dependent. For a short distance and a 5 year contract, it may be just a few hundred a month for the circuit itself. Connection to an ISP and bandwidth will cost you on top of that. Prices vary widely. However, if you were to contract with both the phone co and the ISP for a multi year contract, you may well get it below $1500/mo. > Any installation costs ? Often, yes, to cover the cost of equipment. > How do we connect the FreeBSD computer to the T1 ? See Emerging Tech's products, http://www.etinc.com/. They have a solution that will cost you around $1000-$1500 including the CSU/DSU. I use it, I am very pleased with it. It is not the only solution but it is cheap, particularly if you already have FreeBSD systems running. > How much does the hardware cost ? > > Also, since the incoming lines are ISDN what kind of equipment do we need to > connect ISDN lines ? I use standard serial ports and Motorola Bitsurfer Pro or Motorola UTA/220's. I generally do NOT do anything else on my router/terminal servers because of the high interrupt loading. Last time I tested, running a 115,200bps ISDN link bidirectionally (ftp both ways) we were getting 10k/second in both directions and the 486DX2/50 that was on my end was running around 5%-10% busy. > How much would it cost ? Bitsurfer Pro's cost around $400. The UTA/220's are a bit more. 16550 serial ports are cheap but you might want to consider going to an intelligent card or a Hayes ESP 8 port card (dunno if they're supported however). > Thanks for any help, ... Joe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Greco - Systems Administrator jgreco@ns.sol.net Solaria Public Access UNIX - Milwaukee, WI 414/546-7968
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