US resident builds his own broadband; awarded by the government

According to the Daily Star, Jared Mauch, who hails from Michigan, USA, built his own broadband after dealing with a poor internet connection for years, which also cost him a lot of money. Mauch, who works at Akamai, moved home in 2002. He got the T1 line (a transmission connection between a service provider and a customer) at 1.5 Mbps. Although technology has improved over the years, internet service providers in the Maunch area did not install fiber cables instead. He eventually got very tired of the slow internet speed.

Mauch then turned to a wireless ISP who upgraded the speed to 50 Mbps. He then asked Comcast to extend their Internet services to his property. But when he was quoted an amount of $50,000 (Rs. 40 lakh), he thought it was not worth it. "It was so high at $50,000 that it made me consider whether it was worth it," he told the Daily Star.

After several attempts to get a cheap and fast, secure Internet connection, Mauch began working at his own ISP. He also got 70 of his rural neighbours to join the network.

Mauch revealed that he had spent $145,000 (over Rs. 1 crore) on broadband, of which he paid the contractor $95,000 (Rs. 75 lakh) to install the maximum fiber ducts. He started the company and named it named Washtenaw Fiber Properties. When his company was founded, he was the only customer, but he soon got his neighbours to join the network.

Mauch's broadband connection costs only Rs $199. Customers also have some options to choose from, such as 100 Mbps with unlimited data for $55/month (Rs. 4,300) and 1 Gbps with unlimited data for $79/month (about Rs 6300).