Should I buy an existing internet service provider or build my own network?

Both routes can work, and neither is the right answer for everyone. The useful question is what you want on day one. A purchased provider already has customers, a signal on the air and a team that knows the territory. A new build starts from nothing but carries no one else’s history. Here are the trade-offs to weigh, in the order most buyers meet them.

Time to the first paying subscriber

An existing provider is already billing. A new network must be designed, equipped, installed and marketed before the first invoice goes out, and that gap has to be funded. Ask yourself how long you can carry costs without revenue, and what your lenders or partners will accept while the network is still being built.

Sites, rights-of-way and backhaul

Tower and rooftop sites, access routes and upstream connections are slow to arrange from scratch, and a good location may already be taken. An acquired network has these in place, but only on the terms of its existing leases and contracts. Read them for term, renewal and whether the other party must consent to a change of owner.

What you inherit

• Equipment of uneven age, with upgrades the seller postponed.
• Debts, equipment financing and unpaid supplier accounts, if you buy the shares or agree to assume them.
• Promises made to customers about speed, price or service.
• Rough record-keeping that makes the subscriber list hard to trust.

Existing goodwill is a point on the other side: customers who trust a local provider may stay through a change of owner, particularly if the staff stay. Compare this with how a cleaning company’s clients may behave after a sale.

Licences and registration

Radio licences, spectrum and telecom registration may apply differently to a new operator and a buyer. Ask your lawyer which apply to you, and check the regulator’s own pages.