Net+Effects
Internet Access Service Provider Systems
Open the Internet to your Customers
Everyone is talking about it! If you see providing Internet Service
connections as a business opportunity, Net+Effects can get you started.
Net+Effects provides a turnkey solution for the servers, routers and
much of the cabling necessary to become a seller of access to the
Internet (ISP). Net+Effects will also assist you in getting a good
start by operating the central site services for the first 6 months.
You can concentrate on building your subscriber base, supporting your
customers with their questions and billing.
It couldn't make you look more professional.
Net+Effects' ISP Systems provide a wide degree of flexibility in the
way users access you as the ISP. ISPs can provide either strictly IP
protocol or IP and Shell Protocols for their users. Net+Effects' ISP
configurations come in starting sizes of 30, 50 or 90 ports each of
which support serial connections at speeds up to 115Kb/s. This allows
you to choose between modems or ISDN Terminal Adapters. Mix and match
modem speeds and ISDN to fit your market area.
Table Of Contents
Market Sizing Data from mid '94
Here are some statistics noted at the 10th Annual Software Publishing Association Conference in mid 1994:
On-line Market Statistics
1/3 of US households have PCs
Est. 60% penetration by 1998 of PCs
12% of households have modems
6% of Households subscribe to On-line Services
20% of on-line subscribers use more than one service
# of logons per month for a subscriber: 11 (mean)
Length of typical session: 25 minutes (mean)
Trends and Statistics
Explosive user growth substantially above 100% each year.
Declining communications costs
163% growth in Internet networks in U.S.
Internet
45,000 private/public sites
2.2 million hosts
1,400 WW Webs
137 Countries
The Internet has lots of statistics. Here are some collected by Georgia
Tech in the most recently available survey. (NOTE: Use the "Back"
function on your browser to return here after exploring Georgia Tech's statistics.)
Even with consolidation of companies in the Internet Service provision
business (ISP), there are still many parts of the world where opportunity
exists. Net+Effects believes opportunities for ISP business will center
around under-served geographical areas and specific vertical makret
franchises. Since the Internet is effectively the combination of all the
other nets, there is no one central directory of all service providers.
But, we can provide links to several wide area directories of existing
ISP's maintained by others so you can explore who is currently providing
service coverage in an area or market of interest to you.
Net+Effects' Internet Provider System enables you to professionally reach your
market opportunity from start to running a business in a few weeks.
Planning to offer Internet Services
- First determine which type of Internet Service Provider (ISP) you wish to become.
- Where and what is your target market and what services will you provide.
Types of service
Over the years users have accessed the Internet in many ways.
- Early Days
- Computers were many $$$
- individuals shared machine from text oriented terminals.
- Known as "shell" access
- the terminal the user physically touched was at was not on the Internet
- the machine the user's terminal connected to was on the Internet
- the compute load is on ISP's machines
- Today
- the cost of computing came down
- the machine at the user's desk can be a network node.
- Known as IP, Internet Protocol, access.
- the users machine is part of the internet while dialed in to the ISP
- allows for a much richer set of services like graphical browsers
- the compute load is on user's machine not the ISP
Net+Effects plug 'n play servers for ISP support PPP IP connections and optionally, shell accounts. You can pick either traditional analog modems for connections or ISDN Terminal Adapters to connect with the communications servers provided Net+Effects
Configurations
Configurations include:
- POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) mail services (hold the mail for clients until the client logs in,
- centralized news files -- your clients can read the news on your machine,
- a server hardware, operating systems, etc., to handle authentication, news and mail,
- firewall router to isolate Internet traffic from local services on the server,
- an appropriate number of communications servers to handle customers dialing in.
Equipment is located at POPs (Points of Presence) for your service. As your service grows it is likely you will want to establish additional POPs rather than growing only one site to allow your customers a non-toll dial to your service. Net+Effects'
systems are designed for easy extension to remote sites as well as enlargement of any one site.
Each Net+Effects POP can be configured with 30, 50 or 90 lines. Obviously since all customers are not connected all the time, it is possible to have more customers than lines. As you might expect, when you get into operation, you might find the usage
pattern is different than you anticipated so it is good to be conservative.
The central site, your first POP, is key since it contains the equipment for authentication, news and POP3 mail. Because of the sensitivity of authentication (it fundamentally controls your business and determines the billing data) it will be placed
behind a firewall router. The hardware used will include an IN-1-ISP Server, a firewall router, one or more communication servers and your modems for each configured port. When additional POPs are added they will be tied to the central site through a
router, that isn't there at the initial start.
As your service grows and you want to provide non-toll dial services in a wider area you will want to establish your own network that feeds from satellite sites back to your main site for authentication, news and mail. Remote sites are configured with
communications server(s) and your modems to meet the needs of customers in close proximity and a router configured to send all traffic to the router at the main site You may have many satellite sites.
On-going administration services for you
There are many administrative activities required to operate an Internet Service Provider service. Net+Effects is able to perform many of these remotely and therefore most cost effectively.
- Net+Effects will manage the configuration of your system. This includes the routers, network servers, and communications servers.
- Net+Effects will establish new accounts on your servers, manage login/passwords, news and mail for all your clients.
- In short, Net+Effects will mange your site(s). You only will have to occasionally assist on anything that requires physical action, for example moving a cable, inserting a backup tape, etc. under Net+Effects direction.
The Internet operates many of its services in the classic "Client/Server" model. In this model you may look to Net+Effects to service the "Server" side of the model. You will be responsible for the "Client" side. This means that while Net+Effects will
manage the news and POP3 mail on your server. You will work with your clients regarding news readers and mail readers on their machines. It is your responsibility to handle your customers technical needs. We will provide a secondary level of support,
but will only handle client technical questions through you or your staff.
What Net+Effects will do for you:
- Net+Effects will provide a sample list of tasks for you to adjust to your specific situation.
- Net+Effects has hardware/software combinations to support IP or IP/Shell connections starting with 30 communication ports per site. Options include multiple remote Points of Presence (POPs) that allow you to centralize login authentication,
accounting, News and mail services while providing your geographically dispersed customers a local dial number.
- Net+Effects' systems provide login and logout information and authentication software that enables you to reliably account for usage of your access and bill for services provided on a monthly flat rate or a timed usage rate or a combination of the
above.
- Net+Effects' systems provide firewall protection for your authentication and accounting functions.
- Net+Effects' services provide on-going administrative services to maintain mail and news service.
- Net+Effects' services provide optional on-going administrative
services to maintain the UNIX environment of your Server System.
- Net+Effects' services provide authentication configuration and initiation of new login and passwords for your clients.
- Net+Effects' services provide second level technical support for your local staff working with your clients.
Here is what you need to do:
- Acquire and support connection equipment for the type of subscriber service you wish to provide, e.g. modems or ISDN Terminal Adapters.
- Provide for support for customer inquiries about billing and technical issues.
- Develop the marketing program to advertise your service and get customers.
- Obtain an adequate Internet connection with full news feed and the rights to resell from another Internet Service Provider (Internet Wholesaler).
- Implement your administrative services that use the authentication data to bill your customers.
Getting Started
The first step in getting started is to determine your business case and
the tasks that need to be accomplished. Order the equipment and begin the search for where you will connect to the Internet (Internet Wholesaler). Lead times for connections
often run from 4-10 weeks for the resale connection and 4 to 6 weeks for the host site equipment. Satellite POPs and additional ports at any site can be done much quicker depending on the lead time availability of your network between sites.
Net+Effects Home Page
Information on this page was last updated 20 February 1996
and is subject to change without notice.
[email protected]
Copyright ©: 1996 by Net+Effects