What am I buying when I buy a wireless internet provider?

A wireless internet provider looks like a signal in the air, but the business is a set of separate things that each have an owner, a contract or a condition. Knowing the list helps you ask for the right documents. Some items you take outright, and others pass only if a landlord, supplier or regulator agrees. Go through them one at a time.

Sites and equipment

The physical network is towers, rooftop mounts and the radios on them, plus the equipment installed at customers’ homes. Ask for a site list with the lease or licence of occupation for each one, its term and who must consent to a transfer. Ask who owns the customer equipment and what shape it is in. Visit a sample of sites with someone who knows radio gear.

Backhaul and upstream contracts

Backhaul is how the network reaches the wider internet. Read the contracts for term, renewal and what happens on a change of ownership. A single upstream supplier can be a weak point, so ask whether there is a second route.

Subscribers, systems and people

• The subscriber list, plan mix and a history of how many leave.
• Billing, support and monitoring systems, and who holds the logins.
• Staff and installers, with their roles and any contracts.
• Customer terms and any promises about service.

Expect the list to be incomplete at first. Subscriber records are only as good as the billing system behind them, so ask to see how they are produced. Read what happens when staff leave after a trades acquisition for why the installers matter.

Licence holdings

If the provider holds spectrum or radio licences, treat those as facts to confirm with your lawyer, who can tell you whether and how they transfer. The regulator’s own pages are the place to read the details.