Is it true what they say about Internet, that these high stock valuations are for just air, wires, desks, computers, talent, and possibilities? What Does one of these
places look like anyway?
The place I work looks like air, wires, desks, computers, talent and possibilities! lol
Serious answer:
I've worked for a couple of ISP's, and seen the operations centers of several others. They range from your small "mom and pops" with 300 subscribers to...well...AOL with many millions of subscribers. The NOC (network operation center) looks something like the "control center" you've seen on movies like "war games" for the larger ISP's, while the "mom and pops" might be run from a couple of pc's on a desk.
Much of the primary equipment is located at remote sites (to provide users with a "local" access number). And typically, the company doesn't own the building that houses the equipment. In fact, one of the country's largest sites is just a few miles from my house and inside they have equipment that belongs to AOL, MCI, AT&T, and others.
Bandwidth is everything. The more bandwidth a company controls, the more data they can pass...which means the more subscribers they can sign-up. Bandwidth isn't inexpensive either...probably the largest expense an ISP has to deal with.
Your list, "air, wires, desks, computers, talent, and possibilities" leaves off bandwidth, but besides that, it's pretty complete.
I hope this answers your question.
Have fun on that Birthday Weekend! I hope to be able to afford one of those sometime in the future!
909's
-Joe |
