A few years ago, Senior Network Architect Jared Mauch had a problem. He wanted to upgrade his home internet service, but no suitable options were available. Comcast actually told him it would cost him $50,000 to extend the network to his home.
I live in a rural area myself so I can relate. Internet service on the stick is expensive as hell, and that doesn’t stop it from being generally crappy compared to all the gigabit options available to urban folk. But while I pissed off and paid my bills monthly and consoled myself with the knowledge that at least I didn’t have to put up with my neighbors, Mauch had a different idea. I started my own internet company. Arstechnica (opens in new tab) It has grown rapidly in the last few years and plans to expand further in the near future.
It was never a cheap, foolproof venture.Mauch told Alice (opens in new tab) In January 2021, he spent $145,000 on the project, much of it going to the contractor who installed the fiber contractor, but he spent more time on the more technical aspects of the job, such as installing fiber cables in conduit. I handled it myself. He also runs his two-mile fiber from his home, ACD.net (opens in new tab)the network provider from which he purchases connections and bandwidth.
But the effort has paid off. Mauch keeps his day job, but his ISP —Washtenaw Fiber Properties LLC (opens in new tab)— It already has about 70 customers and is about to expand to nearly 600 more properties thanks to a $2.6 million funding courtesy of the US government. Coronavirus State and Local Financial Consolidation Funds (opens in new tab) program. Washtenaw Fiber Properties is one of four ISPs selected by Washtenaw County to provide broadband Internet service to underserved locations.
“They had an RFP to fill this gap [request for proposals]and in my own stupid stupidity or talent, I still don’t know which, but I will bid on the whole project [in my area] And we won that competitive bidding process,” said Mauch.
Washtenaw’s prices are higher than those of major ISPs. Installation costs can be as high as $599 (can be higher depending on distance from road), and monthly rates range from $65/month for 100Mbps service to $139/month for 1Gbps. But again, that’s pretty reasonable for rural internet. If you want to live an idyllic life without giving up, you have to pay a price for all of this.
Mauch works in a sparsely populated rural area, so he needs to add another 38 miles of fiber to the 14 he already runs. Somewhat ironically, Comcast’s $50,000 request doesn’t seem entirely exorbitant: Mauch notes that at least two of the homes he connects are half a mile (0.5 miles) to reach. ) distance, and “each of those houses would cost over $30,000,” he said. Get service. ”
