ISP Survival Guide

Book excerpt: Introducing the ISP bible for the networking and telecomm industry. To put it mildly, cyberspace business is booming. There are presently more than 6,000 Internet Service Providers worldwide, and about 600 new providers are springing up each quarter. However, the ISP business is still very young and without precedent-no how-to manual or foolproof start-up recipe exists for those who want a piece of the action. As ISPs mount an ambitious challenge against phone companies for control of the $300 billion telecommunications market, they need a step-by-step planning guide to creating, developing, and profiting from a solid service provider business. Networking pioneer Geoff Huston describes the technologies, business practices, and policies required to be a formidable player in the ISP business, covering architecture principles, network management, infrastructure, business models, public policy, future growth, and much more. ISP (Internet Service Provider) companies provide access for end-users to the Internet. ISPs range from small, regional providers to larger, well-known companies like America Online and Sprint. The Wiley Networking Council's mission is to fill an important gap in networking literature by publishing books that put technology into perspective for decision makers who need an implementation strategy, a vendor and outsourcing strategy, and a product and design strategy. It is comprised of four of the most influential leaders of the networking community: Lyman Chapin: Founding trustee of the Internet Society; chief scientist of BBN, a division of GTE Internetworking. Scott Bradner: Trustee of the Internet Society; Director of the Harvard University Network Switching Test Lab; Network World columnist. Vinton Cerf: Founding trustee of the Internet Society, often called the "Father of the Internet;" Senior Vice President, MCI/WorldCom. Ed Kozel: CTO and Senior VP for Product Development, Cisco Corporation,