Why Some ISPs Fail

A look at why ISPs fail or get into early trouble and struggle, including the common mistakes I’ve seen that have led to big problems for ISPs. 

• Biting Off More than Can be Chewed. One of the biggest causes of problems is ISPs that try to grow too big too fast. 
• Takes Longer to Get to Market than Expected. There are always issues that take longer than expected, and it’s not always the same issues.
• Miss Important Steps. Even small details can get you.
• Everything Costs More than Anticipated. This could be a factor of lousy estimating, or of not anticipating the impact of delays. But when projects start running short on cash, they start making other mistakes by taking shortcuts.
• Sales Slower Than Anticipated. Unless the ISP has fully pre-sold the market, the rate of customer acquisition is usually considerably longer than they hoped, adding more pressure on finances.
• Early Outages. 
• Keep the Public on Your Side. The industry is full of stories of ISPs that antagonized the public through shoddy construction processes, and particularly for not doing remediation to fix public problems as soon as they arise. A community can turn quickly on an ISP that doesn’t make quality an important issue.