Preface: ISP FAQ (France)

Say hello to me

So You Want to Be an ISP in the South of France?

(a public service FAQ)

NOTE (10 jan 2000):
The ISP-in-France FAQ, as these pages have affectionately come to be known, are no longer maintained. You know, the usual excuse: no time, other commitments, etc, etc.

However, it still is a good read, and since these pages have more to do with the esprit economique in France than about choosing a router, well, you've gotten this far, you might as well read the thing.

UPDATE (20 Oct 2011):
Eleven years after the last update, I still think this series has truthiness, although I really hope I've evolved as a writer. (At least a little bit :-) So, yes, please read on, and thanks for the visit.

Table of Contents

The Background
27 august 96
Business à la Sauce Française
1 september 96
Oh-la-la, an Entrepreneur!
20 October 96
France and the Internet
20 October 96
Can It Be Done?
14 May 97
The FT Chronicles I:
Ps-s-t! Wanna buy a telco monopoly?
25 July 97
The FT Chronicles I I:
Dumb Terminals
25 July 97

If you really think there should be more installments, delivered in a timely manner, you could always send me a mail berating me my laziness.

Preface: Kicking around the cyber-winecellers of the Internet

There are lots of great sources of information on getting into and running an Internet business. Not surprisingly, as I write these words, I am starting to see postings on select mailing lists about how to get out of the Internet business. So it's not the information that's lacking, and it has the virtue of being well-balanced.

Many of the best sources are on the Net itself (noblesse oblige) : Web pages, mailing lists, newsgroups, etc. Also, anyone looking for proof that bound paper still has a place in our lives will discover that there are several indispensable reference books.

You probably know all this already, since it's unlikely that you got to this page without doing some serious surfing, so you'll understand (and hopefully be relieved) if I don't attempt to repeat everything in an effort to be the King of the Web. This works out fine for me cause I'm neither a Unix guru nor the Cisco 2511 Kid.

But there is a story to tell here, it's partly mine, partly that of a proud and venerable region that is discovering that the old answers don't work anymore. Yes, it's about the thrills and heartbreaks of being an Internet Service and Access Provider in semi-rural France.

By being nice to myself, I'd say I possess three qualifications for writing these pages.

I am the owner/director of an ISP in France, created in january, 1996.
I am not French. I am American.
I knew nothing about the technical underbelly of the Internet before starting out on this endeavor.

If you have a bottle of Domaine de Rotier (Renaissance) lying about, you might want to open it. We like the '92. Its capiteux oakiness with underlying raspberry and acacia aromas goes down perfectly with this FAQ.

On to Part I