Hey folks 
I’m starting an ISP. Again.
Not my first time doing this — I built another ISP from the ground up and helped take it to scale. So I should have known what I was getting into. And yet… somehow I forgot just how gloriously painful it all is.
Welcome to Olilo. A no-BS broadband provider for geeks, by geeks. No contracts. No hidden fees. No corporate faffery. Just stupidly fast internet and sysadmin-friendly vibes.
This is Week 1 of building Olilo in public. Every week I’ll post what we’ve done, what worked, what went sideways, and what I wish someone had told me before I hit “submit” on that Ofcom form (again).
Here’s what we’re actually using right now:
Coming up:
Because nobody talks about this stuff publicly.
Starting an ISP is doable — but weirdly secretive and unnecessarily complex. I’ve done it before. I’m doing it again. And I’m dragging it all out into the open this time.
So if you’re:
Ask me anything — from funding models to router recommendations to why One Touch Switching is a necessary evil. I’ll answer everything I can without getting a stern email.
—
Founder of Olilo – the anti-BS broadband provider.
Building in public. Packet by packet.
(Somehow forgot how brutal this all is. Doing it anyway.)
I’m starting an ISP. Again.
Not my first time doing this — I built another ISP from the ground up and helped take it to scale. So I should have known what I was getting into. And yet… somehow I forgot just how gloriously painful it all is.
Welcome to Olilo. A no-BS broadband provider for geeks, by geeks. No contracts. No hidden fees. No corporate faffery. Just stupidly fast internet and sysadmin-friendly vibes.
This is Week 1 of building Olilo in public. Every week I’ll post what we’ve done, what worked, what went sideways, and what I wish someone had told me before I hit “submit” on that Ofcom form (again).
What Actually Happened This Week
1. Paperwork & Planning (a.k.a. Death by Admin)
Registered with Ofcom – the point where it becomes real (and real complicated).- Signed up to TOTSCo for One Touch Switching – the new UK-wide switching system. Makes switching ISPs simpler for customers, but about as fun to set up as explaining BGP to your dog.
- Locked in agreements with multiple open access fibre networks – this gives us a chunky FTTP footprint right from the start.
2. Forecasting, Funding & Feeling Regret
- Built out cost models for customer acquisition, support, backhaul, CPE options, and more. (It’s amazing how many ways money can disappear.)
- Mapped our first-year growth, burn rate, and the moment when we hopefully become self-sustaining.
- Wrangled a lot of spreadsheets. Most of them made me question life choices. Some even made sense.
3. Planning the Geeky Bits
This is the fun part. The “why we’re doing this” part:- Bring your own router as standard (sick of ISPs forcing plastic bricks on people)
- Olilo-approved router list for those who want something solid and pre-tested
- Monitoring system from customer router to HQ – think “we know it’s broken before you do”
- Internal automation via n8n – everything from smart support alerts to briefing reports
- Geek perks – early access tools, IPv6 tunnels, CLI goodies, maybe even some ASCII art if we’re feeling generous
Wins of the Week
- We’re real. We exist. Ofcom knows our name and we haven’t been sued yet.
- FTTP footprint is better than I expected — thanks to wholesale partners with great coverage across the UK
- We’re building switching so simple your nan could do it.
But let’s be honest — we’re not after just any nan.
Unless she’s compiling kernels, running pfSense on her own whitebox, and has opinions about bufferbloat… then yes, we absolutely want your nan.
WTF Moments
- Forecasting support volumes led to a full-on existential crisis. Again.
- Someone I talked to thought FTTP was a cryptocurrency. (just kidding, or am I?)
- TOTSCo still sounds like a kids’ cartoon but is, in fact, a critical broadband switching hub.
- Telecoms acronyms should come with a glossary and a therapist. (I remember saying this the first time round)
This Week’s Stack & Tools
Here’s what we’re actually using right now:- Notion – our brain-in-a-box. We're using it for everything from internal docs and project planning to router testing notes and random shower thoughts about IPv6.
- Google Chat – for internal comms. Lightweight, fast, and gets out of the way (mostly). Plus it’s where half the chaos happens at 2am when something breaks.
- Vercel – hosting our monolithic app stack. Yes, monolithic. Microservices can sit down for now.
- n8n – open source automation on steroids.
- Spreadsheets – lots of them. Some haunted.
Next Week’s Plan
Coming up:
- Integrating with our first fibre partner (starting with provisioning and CPE workflows)
- Building the first version of our home-agent-to-HQ monitoring & alerts system
- Finalising the Olilo-approved router shortlist
- Designing the onboarding flow and getting our pricing into something that makes sense
Why Share All This?
Because nobody talks about this stuff publicly.
Starting an ISP is doable — but weirdly secretive and unnecessarily complex. I’ve done it before. I’m doing it again. And I’m dragging it all out into the open this time.
So if you’re:
- Thinking about launching an ISP (it's stressful, its painful, its endless hours of work)
- Deep in the world of FTTP
- Running your own WISP / alt-net
- Or just love reading about network chaos from the front lines...
Ask me anything — from funding models to router recommendations to why One Touch Switching is a necessary evil. I’ll answer everything I can without getting a stern email.
—
Founder of Olilo – the anti-BS broadband provider.
Building in public. Packet by packet.
(Somehow forgot how brutal this all is. Doing it anyway.)
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