Many existing ISPs are more than happy to provide an Internet connection to a new ISP. The only disadvantage in this is that you will probably pay somewhat more to an ISP than to others specialising in connectivity. The situation can be further complicated if you are in the same area as the other ISP and will be competing with them. If you are not offering general ISP services or are concentrating on a vertical market then this may not be a problem or become one.

If you are becoming a node of one of the several internet cooperatives that exist in New Zealand then there should already exist plently of information on how to get connected and how much it will cost. Very often the cooperative will be aware of all the special deals and discounts that can be negociated from Telecom. They may also have deals going with router and computer companies and perhaps bulk services purchase options that could work to your advantage.

Sometimes these may be the only internet connected organisations in your area. In the early days (1991-1992) universites were glad to assist in setting up as ISP and providing some help and connections. This situation has changed since the emphasis in most universites and polythechnics is now 'user pays' so do not expect low cost connection opportunities when dealing with education institutions.

The only Telcos in New Zealand that currently offer international bandwidth are Telecom NZ (via it subsidiary Netway), Clear and Telstra. The problem with all of these is that their service delivery points are restricyed to only the major cities in NZ. Ourside of these areas you will have to run a DDS link of some type to their nearest delivery node.

This can mean just about any other organisation that has an existing internet connection. Many larger institutions have such a connection, eg. Local and District councils, government departments, hospitals, banks, etc. Smaller organisations like estate agents, local computer shops and computer related organisations such as software developers, computer hardware sellers and service organisations etc.
The main problem with all of these is that security and privacy can be such a major issue that it precludes any outside business interest (you!) from being allowed to connect to their network.

What type of connection?

This means you are within a very short distance of your connectivity provider and can somehow get a connection to their LAN, or you are telehousing your equipment in your provider's premises.
Such connections are usually made via some ethernet switch or firewall system to protect the host network (security/privacy). Main problem is getting anyone to provide this type of connection as the security issue often precludes it.

For many new ISPs this is a highly desirable type of connection because once the hardware is purchased, installed and commissioned there is no further cost - ie no monthly ongoing costs.
The main issues concerning the viability of a radio link are: - the distance between the two sites
- is there line-of-sight between the two buildings?
- any restrictions (local council/govt etc?) on the siting of antennae?

Expensive. Monthly fixed charge, often the only option available. Several types of DDS link:
Metropolitan DDS (MDDS) available only in several main cities in NZ, it is a lower cost DDS option.
DDS, the standard DDS service.
Wideband DDS (WDDS) for higher speed connections, EXPENSIVE! Stacked wideband DDS, special type of WDDS.

Digital dial up system, ISDN, is only cost effective where connection time is kept reasonably low since there is a per-minute time charge as well as a fixed monthly rental.
Centrex ISDN is a lower cost option available only in main cities in NZ but your ISP needs to have Centrex ISDN services.

A permanent analogue telephone type connection. Low cost but again distance dependant as well as speed restricted. Uses modems so speed is limited to what modem can achieve (v34). Line can be conditioned for data so modems work at near max speed.

This really cheating but as a startup connection some ISPs have used a residential phone line to call to another line (usually business line) installed at the supplier's premises. Very low cost but not very reliable, also speed resticted to what modems can achieve reliably over normal telephone circuits.

Some newer technologies seem to be mentioned every so often in the press. Amongst these are laser and infra-red connections. Apart from some very short range tests none of these have yet been successfully used in a real ISP connection within New Zealand.
Amateur radio/radio modems have been used over the last few years but always these have proved too slow to provide a workable data link for an ISP. 2400baud to 9600baud radio modems are now available and there always seems to be another faster radio modem available but never quite making it into NZ.
Satellite connections also get reported every so often in the press. Usually after a lot of high bandwidth/low cost predictions the issue of propogation delays is raised and the issue dies off for another six months. More recent press has talked about the need for low-orbit satellites to overcome the delays and make a vialble Internet connection.
Other press has looked at hybrid satellite/ISDN systems.

How much will it cost?

What about routers?

An essential piece of hardware for connecting a customer LAN to the Internet WAN.
Basically a computer that can provide a route between two networks. Usually a router will have a minimum of two network interfaces, one to connect to a LAN via an ethernet port and a serial interface to connect to a WAN. The LAN port connects to your LAN while the WAN port connects to the data link which in turn connects to your connectivity provider.

This depends on what type of connection you get to your internet connectivity provider. Your router will need a port to match the port requirements of your link type.
For Telecom DDS services the interface will be nearly always be a synchronous serial type using either an X21 interface or V35 interface standard. For faster DDS connection this may be a G703 interface.
The most basic router will provide an X21 WAN port and an ethernet 10base LAN port. Just about all router manufacturers can provide this type of router. Where the synchronous interface is V35 or ISDN dialup is used or the LAN interface is Token Ring then routers are still available but the choice will be reduced.
Below is a list of some of the more common and industry standard routers:

An expensive piece of hardware! Very often a router is the single most expensive item of hardware that a newly connecting site will have to purchase. In general the price of routers have not decreased significantly over the last two years, A modern fully optioned PC system is often less expensive than anything but the most basic models of router.
In NZ dollars a basic router can range in price from $1500 to over $4000 Low end routers from various manufacturers will include a network port, usually ethernet, and at least one WAN port, a serial port either async or sync type, or an ISDN port.

Borrowing may be possible but usually only from your connectivity provider. It may be conditional on your purchasing a router from them and the loaner router will only be until your ordered router arrives.
Longer term borrowing may be possible but very often this will turn into a rental agreement or involve some package deal for overall connectivity. This may need some investigation where the link and data charges include the router hardware, you may end up paying for the router in increased connectivity charges yet never actually get to own the router.
Enquire about lower connectivity charges if you provide your own router equipment at your site.

Commissioning the link and getting the internet connection up

This can always be good fun and unless you are confident of your technical skills it may be necessary to employ someone with experience to complete this task.
Radio equipment will often need special antennae and this could require erecting a mast of some type and aligning the antennae as radio links will normally require line-of-sight alignment to operate correctly.
DDS and ISDN connections are easier to deal with and commissioning will usually mean cabling the Telco equipment to a router and configuring the router software to enable the link. Again it may be advisable to employ someone with router installation experience.

Most new internet connected systems will need to obtain a Class C IP network and have this associated with a domain name.
Domain names are managed in New Zealand by ISOCNZ and network numbers are allocated by sending email to soa@waikato.ac.nz
The application for a domain name is completed via the ISOCNZ web pages at http://isocnz.org.nz although before applying for this you will need to have your primary and secondary DNS servers up and operational.
You connectivity provider should be able to help with this.
An example application form for a network number is included in the ISP resource files area although again your connectivity provider should help with this.

The first people to ask about this (if required) is the company you are connecting to for your internet services. They should be able to provide details on setup requiremenst for the router and may even be able to arrange programming of the router for your connection.
They may also be able to recommend a consultant who can visit your site and commission the data link.
Probably the least useful people to depend on for router programming will be the place you purchased the router (if not your ISP). Very few router vendors in New Zealand have a clue when it comes to router programming and setup for internet purposes.