If I had infinite time, I would. It's taken a few years to recover from no fewer than 4 projects which were complete write offs in terms of profitability because my permits were delayed while the incumbent built out a neighbourhood for themselves. There's nothing better than a half million dollar hole in your financial plans thanks to delayed and denied permits.
Starting to build a carrier is a really steep learning curve. You don't know what the rules are, and you don't know how and when to fight back against the incumbents. Hell, the CRTC is a huge problem in and of itself as it took 2 years to sort out a fairly simple filing by Videotron where they had permits improperly denied to access poles (see https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2022/2022-160.htm for the decision on that filing -- my comments were referenced several times in that decision).
If someone really wants to start a small telco here in Canada, my number 1 recommendation is: do your own engineering. Engineering consulting companies will dig you a very expensive hole for projects that go sideways -- avoid that. The second most important tip is to fight back and go to regulators the moment permits do not get issued in a timely manner. Learn from some of my pain to avoid your own expensive lessons learned.
Starting to build a carrier is a really steep learning curve. You don't know what the rules are, and you don't know how and when to fight back against the incumbents. Hell, the CRTC is a huge problem in and of itself as it took 2 years to sort out a fairly simple filing by Videotron where they had permits improperly denied to access poles (see https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2022/2022-160.htm for the decision on that filing -- my comments were referenced several times in that decision).
If someone really wants to start a small telco here in Canada, my number 1 recommendation is: do your own engineering. Engineering consulting companies will dig you a very expensive hole for projects that go sideways -- avoid that. The second most important tip is to fight back and go to regulators the moment permits do not get issued in a timely manner. Learn from some of my pain to avoid your own expensive lessons learned.