Fiber Optic → [Questions/Help/Advice] How to find nearest node & w/ whom to negotiate access?

I am considering moving to a rural area, and I am quite serious about laying my own fiber from the nearest node to my home. Frankly, this issue could be a dealbreaker for the whole move because I plan to run my company out of my home. How do I find the nearest node, find out who owns it, and then negotiate access to it? Are there brokers for this sort of thing?

Yes, I know this could be very expensive. But it can be a business expense and I could potentially regain some revenue by setting up a shared network with the few households who live in a small cluster nearby.

The nearest cable/ISP is Mediacom, but their territory ends on the other side of an interstate highway about 3 miles away. There is no cable, DSL, fiber, etc. on "my" side of the interstate highway. It's a small pocket of private land surrounded by a military reservation/wilderness.

Unless there is a consumer ISP specifically offering consumer fiber Internet services locally, this undertaking will indeed be very expensive. As in a grand or two per month plus any one time fees.

Furthermore, you cannot just roll up to a fiber node and expect to be able to buy service. At the very least it needs to be an access network node. Nobody is going to break out a fiber for you from a middle mile or long haul network.

So, before proceeding with any practical information on how to procure and install service, I would need to know what kind of budget you have. Unless there is a bunch of zeros on that check, I'd look at plan B.

Plan B is to buy service from Mediacom and backhaul it via point to point wireless radio links to your property.

We are in the middle of 6 similar projects - enterprise fiber to the home in a rural environment and either becoming a wireless ISP (WISP) or shared with neighbors.

Average build cost is about 50k with monthly costs ranging from $600/mo to $2500.

Obviously your costs could be a lot higher or lower but based on being rural and landlocked by military base, and in a mediacom region, a good starting point.

If you send me the address, I can pull the fiber maps and see if there is other fiber nearby. We also partner with mediacom (and hundreds of other ISPs) and can get them out there to survey for fiber and know the exact costs.

Otherwise, do what IPtrans mentioned and set up a wireless bridge.

Very good advice so far. If you feel you can start from home, by all means start from there. I would look elsewhere to get your upstream connectivity as the cost for the bandwidth, plus back haul to a DC is going to set you back quite a sum along with the contract that you will be financially responsible for even if you don't hit your expected take rate, not to mention the costs to establish your own fiber plant to reach your potential customers. Look for a upstream provider near a town close by you if there are any. or look to a larger metropolitan area and bring it to where you need it to be using wireless, it will be cheaper and more feasible, in the beginning, even if you are able to get connectivity locally. I would check with the major ISP's and get a base rate at what it will cost and that pricing will be inline with others servicing your area either on-net or off-net or in a DC. For all intents and purposes you will be viewed as a competitor with pricing from your local providers, such as Mediacom and the pricing you will get, if any, will reflect that, along with still only maybe receiving a transport circuit and you will need a transit circuit still. Good luck.

Some of the responses so far include the kind of terminology (e.g., access node, middle mile, long haul, backhaul) that I need to learn to speak if I am going to be effective in my research. I don't expect someone to type out a tutorial here, but it would be great if I can get some links to sites that explain how the fiber infrastructure and ISPs work. I'm technically apt, and great with networking on the downstream side of the WAN port on a router, but the Black Box of ISP-side hardware, line leasing, etc. is totally a mystery to me. I am unsatisfied with the way ISPs treat consumer accounts as lobotomized sheep and business accounts as deep pockets who don't need bandwidth.

I may be in luck, as there is an "industrial park" just a mile north, which is currently mostly vacant/undeveloped. The county wants to promote it and draw businesses there, so I wouldn't be surprised if there is some good infrastructure in place that could be patched into.

Edit [added]: A wireless link is probably not an option. This property is a private airfield, so antennas are not compatible with airplanes and max structure height is limited by code to 50'. I imagine a wireless link would require directional microwave antennas or at least a yagi, correct?

Brief explanation of terminology in layman terms (not going for 100% accuracy)

Access network - local network that connects properties (think local streets)
Access node - a point where you can connect to the local network
Middle mile - wide area network connecting local area networks (think arterial roads)
Long haul - long distance links connecting different areas (think interstate highways)
Backhaul - link connecting a local network to another (larger) network (think on ramp)

An ISP basically works like this:
- access network to connect and aggregate customers
- connected by private backhaul or a middle mile network to an Internet Point of Presense where the ISP buys bandwidth to connect to the rest of the world or uses long haul links to connect to other networks

A point to point wireless link will need an antenna. It might be an integrated panel antenna or an external antenna, depending on make and model. However, this need not be a problem. You can place the wireless link anywhere that has good line of sight to the far end, and then connect the link with fiber or another wireless link to your house.

You should take commquote up on their offer to search for providers in the area.

Plan B(1) is stay away from them. They passed the property of a friend & I tried to get service.

It was pointless. There are 5 unserved houses set back 500 ft from the main road, with an existing PoCo/Telco pole line T'ed off going back.

Mediacom has a HFC node right there at the T. They would not run coax that far; as for hardline, not unless we paid up front, and in the words of an insider "NY [hq] will dither for 9-12 months before deciding to take your money."

Plus they have onerous usage caps/penalties.

Does your friend have service?

>Does your friend have service?

Yes, from U-Verse instead. [Internet; SWMBO likes Dish, so...]

... and you also have U-Verse?

No, I am in VZ land.... U-verse is not my favorite, but it's better than Mediacom..

That's all good and dandy, but doesn't really help anybody that has no other option than Mediacom, like OP.

My point is Mediacom may be not a solution but a problem.....

Be that as it may, I'm fairly sure some sort of broadband internet connectivity beats no internet connectivity hands down. Whatever you think about Mediacom, satellite is going to be worse.

You'd be better off finding a Wireless option. I've tried to do something where I'd meet Frontier at the highway a mere 1000 from the house and cost over $20,000 engineering and 1500 a month for the service itself.