Because greater competition in more populated cities have a tendency of pushing business costs up, many opt to establish their business in more rural, less populated towns. In so doing, you enjoy the benefits of low rental costs, low cost for acquisition of facilities, low taxes, and low salaries. However, there are always added “costs” that are not obvious at first consideration.
Establishing a business in an inaccessible area means dealing with the complicated problems of acquiring a rural broadband service. In rural areas, the choices for broadband services providers are at best limited. In some instances, you sometimes have to be the one to become your own Internet Service Provider (ISP).
It’s important to first check whether there are broadband providers available in the area. Aggregator websites like ShopforDSL allow you to check the costs and availability of many carriers in one search. Reasonable costs will run between as little as $50 to as high as $300 monthly. These aggregator sites cultivate linkages with as many as 30 providers, sparing you the trouble of calling each provider individually.
Inquiring about DSL service would require you to provide a working phone number located in the area where you want the DSL service, so get a phone line first before getting DSL pricing. By getting a phone line first (cellular phones do not allow DSL services), you make sure that the pricing quoted will be practically accurate.
If there are no DSL services available, check for T1 services. These, due to the speeds of 1.5 MB per second, a 99.99% guaranteed uptime, and bandwidth enough for businesses with at most 50 employees, are more expensive at a cost range of $450 to $1200 monthly. T1s are available for installation in any locality where you can get a phone line, as wires used in T1 installations are provided by phone companies themselves. ShopforT1 offers pricing for T1 services at any location in the continental US.
In the absence of a DSL service provider and fear of the costs associated with a T1 service, you can look into finding ISP services offered wireless (by a local wireless provider) or via satellite. To do either, find the Chamber of Commerce directory, look for “One Las Vegas”, and request for a list of national wireless ISP providers (“One Las Vegas” offers the most comprehensive list). Otherwise, try to look for hotspots on websites like WiFinder, JiWire, or Boingo. Otherwise, find a local business in the area who might be willing to share the costs of a T1 service.
You also have the option of beginning your own small ISP. If there are no huge obstructions like trees or high-rise buildings, it might be ideal to be your own ISP and offer your own wireless internet service to the people and establishments around you.
However, you can spend as much as $10,000 to setup the service, and will have to find someone willing to pay about $500 monthly even if the idea doesn’t work out well . Research, because T1 service providers won’t let you off the hook just because your clients refuse to pay for the wireless service you offer them. Look into information sources like “Start a WISP”, get a quote for a T1 service in your location of choice to know how much operating costs of WISP will be, and check how much it will cost you to break even.