+1 Do not confuse a desire from some party you wish to do business saying, "Our own consultants have said that we shouldn't do business with anyone not compliant with these standards," as a requirement for licensure. Bureaucrats simply like certificates and that's all this really boils down to, a way for consultants and/or politicians to meddle in both ends of what has previously been a pretty open process, creating a solution in search of a problem and adding complexity where it's generally not needed.
In fine, the only thing you need in the US to be an ISP is a network. The rest is mostly all about trying to get customers from one section or another of business or of the general public. -Wayne On Tue, May 31, 2016 at 11:54:38AM -0700, Eric Flanery (eric) wrote: > There is no such thing as an 'ISP license' in the US. I have a hard time > imagining Texas of all places would have such a requirement. > > Depending on what exactly you are doing, there are various and highly > varied requirements, such as acquiring a SPIN number for E-Rate, filing FCC > 477 if you do broadband, FCC 499 if you do VoIP (CLEC and ETC also apply > there), a FRN if you do pretty much anything FCC-related, various sorts of > licenses for most radio/microwave systems (excepting part 15 stuff), CALEA, > open internet, etc... > > COALS _could_ apply _if_ you are running a cable TV system that also > delivers data services, but it isn't an 'ISP thing'. > > More to the point... > > I wouldn't take US legal advice from any consultant not familiar with US > law, or really any non-lawyer consultant at all. I wouldn't take it from > NANOG either; while it's a tremendous technical resource, it is not your > attorney. > > There are a number of telecommunications focused law firms out there, with > knowledgeable lawyers. It would be a good idea to establish a relationship > with one, if you intend to enter the increasingly complex legal minefield > of being an ISP. > > --Eric > > On Tue, May 31, 2016 at 11:24 AM, Dan White <dwh...@olp.net> wrote: > > > Not familiar with the process, but look at E-rate if you want to provide > > service to schools, libraries and health providers. > > > > > > On 05/31/16 13:14 -0500, Lorell Hathcock wrote: > > > >> NANOG: > >> > >> Our owner has hired a consultant who insists that we should have an ISP > >> license to operate in the United States. (Like they have in other > >> countries > >> like Germany and in Africa where he has extensive personal experience.) > >> > >> I am asking him to tell me which license we should have because I don't > >> know > >> of a license that we are required to have to route IP traffic to end > >> customers. > >> > >> I am familiar with CLEC status filed with our state. But it is not a > >> requirement to pass traffic. > >> > >> He is suggesting COALS with which I am completely unfamiliar. > >> > >> Can anyone tell me if there is a Texas state and/or USA Federal license > >> for > >> a small operator to pass IP traffic from the internet to end users > >> (commercial and/or residential). > >> > >> I am aware that there are some CALEA requirements of ISPs that seem to > >> kick > >> in once a CALEA request is made, but is that different from a license. > >> > > > > -- > > Dan White > > BTC Broadband > > --- Wayne Bouchard w...@typo.org Network Dude http://www.typo.org/~web/
