>>53654602
Don't know forsure, but I'd assume that the infrastructure that the big companies have is impossible to compete with. Would cost a hell of a lot to get a foot in the door.

Bumping. I'm very curious.

Based on my research so far there appear to be two main barriers to entry:
1) bandwidth or physical wires
2) data center - having a computer to process and route requests connected (seemingly ideally) to a peering station

2) seems like the easier point to conquer, although I haven't yet been able to figure out how to get on a peering station and create needed address lookup tables.

1) seems like the real bitch. Cable companies own all the cables and aren't going to let you use them so starting a competing ISP in a typical, let's say suburban setting, would require a huge investment in laying cable. In some more densely populated urban areas it could be a more attractive investment.

>>53654602

There is infrastructure associated with it besides just the datacenter. You need cable technicians that can run line and diagnose problems, you need people that can setup modems and routers in old or retarded people's homes, etc. On top of all of this, if your going to have a fleet of vehicles running around doing all this shit you also need dispatchers, mechanics, and what not for your fleet. There is a fuck ton of overhead involved and it is a huge thing to manage properly.

>>53654602
You are about 20 years too late.

>hope of starting my own ISP
>I still don't get what ISPs actually do.

Good luck, anon. Physically laying your own network is going to run you hundreds of thousands for just a few customers, 10s of millions for a few thousand, and that's not even counting the bribes for politicians.