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Would you provide Internet service for a hot meal? Would you spend a Saturday afternoon fixing a connection on a customer's garage roof? Members of the ISP-Wireless list say it's all part of the American dream.

[August 7, 2002]

On the ISP-Wireless list in July, MK queried,

"I'm starting a rural WISP in a very small town. I'm not expecting more than a couple dozen customers, and I'm not planning on hiring any employees. I'll do installs for free, and just charge for access. Is this a reasonable way to go?"

A number of respondents suggested that it should be fine for a rural WISP:

[JE enthused] "You sound like me. Sure, I like money, but there's times I've gone and done a job for a good meal, or something they had that was junk to them but treasure to me."

[DH agreed] "When wireless is no longer fun, basic, cheap, technically challenging, and still useful for somebody, I'm outta here."

Others warned, however, that it is important to place a value on your time:

[RV advised] "If you don't value your time doing an install, then your customers will treat you like you are worthless. This is a lesson that every small business learns the hard way."

[TB recalled] "I did the same thing when I first started six years ago. What I found was that they expected more and more. Our time is worth something, and to sit there and give them lessons on how to do this and that just did not make any sense any more."

[JK added] "One thing you will find, the longer you are in business, is that there is no such thing as customer loyalty, and there is no such thing as a friend in business. No matter how loyal or nice a customer may seem, they are still a consumer, and if given the chance, they will go elsewhere in a heartbeat."

Still others suggested that it's simply a matter of the difference between urban and rural values:

[MK noted] "This is small town rural America. Maybe it's old fashioned, but around here, it's far more important to make and keep friends. I worked for a small business for 14 years, and there was a lot of customer loyalty. We gave them the personal attention and access that most competitors refused to do on the basis of 'productivity.'"

[MH offered] "I just spent a very relaxing Saturday installing a PtP connection, and spent about an hour just surfing the web 'testing the connection' on the roof of a parking garage. Most people do this because they enjoy it when they're not rushed and can take their time to do it right."

[RH agreed] "I operate the same way. That's just the way it is in rural America."

DH contended that small rural WISPs actually present a return to the possibilities of the American dream:

"What I saw, years ago, in the combination of affordable personal computers and affordable (e.g. wireless) communications, was an opportunity for very small operations to be mini-ISPs: make some money, provide connectivity, and contribute to a sense of 'community' which can be so absent in America. The American dream of working for yourself had just about disappeared, but with micros, wireless unlicensed radios, a T-1, and lots of hard work, it's possible again."

—End