From one tower to a regional backbone. Dark fiber upgrade path, content caching, peering strategy, technology migration, and multi-site expansion modeling.
The 5-year plan: 10G to 100G on the same fiber. 500 subs to 8,000+. Mendota to the Quad Cities.
Model subscriber growth, usage trends, and fiber upgrade timing. Toggle content caches to see how free caching appliances extend your backhaul capacity by 30-40%.
Dark fiber is the only backhaul strategy where your capacity grows without your monthly cost changing. Upgrade the light, not the glass.
One fiber pair. Four generations of optics. Same glass from 2026 to 2030+. You never outgrow the fiber ā you just upgrade the light.
Launch day. Standard 10G optics, widely available, $150/each.
Drop-in upgrade. Same fiber pair, swap optics + upgrade switch ports to SFP28.
Same dark fiber. Coherent optics push 100G over single fiber pair. Need QSFP28 router ports.
Endgame on single fiber pair. DWDM can push multiple 400G channels = terabits on one strand.
| Year | Subscribers | Avg Usage | Peak Demand | After Caching | Fiber Tier | Headroom | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 300 | 3 Mbps | 3.2 Gbps | 2.1 Gbps | 10G | 79% | Comfortable |
| 2027 | 420 | 3.8 Mbps | 5.6 Gbps | 3.8 Gbps | 25G | 85% | Comfortable |
| 2028 | 588 | 4.9 Mbps | 10.1 Gbps | 6.9 Gbps | 100G | 93% | Comfortable |
| 2029 | 823 | 6.3 Mbps | 18.1 Gbps | 12.3 Gbps | 100G | 88% | Comfortable |
| 2030 | 1,152 | 8.1 Mbps | 32.5 Gbps | 22.1 Gbps | 400G | 94% | Comfortable |
| 2031 | 1,613 | 10.3 Mbps | 58.2 Gbps | 39.6 Gbps | 400G | 90% | Comfortable |
Cache popular content locally. Reduces transit costs and backhaul demand by 32%.
Peering at an Internet Exchange reduces transit costs and improves latency by connecting directly to content providers instead of routing through a transit middleman. The DeKalb PtP link is your path to Chicago's peering ecosystem.
Wireless technology moves fast. Plan for migration to next-gen platforms without disrupting existing subscribers.
Projected P&L based on subscriber growth, ARPU trends, and operational costs. Assumes mixed-architecture WISP with tower carrier leases.
| Year | Subscribers | ISP Revenue | Carrier Leases | Total Revenue | OpEx | Net Income | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 300 | $270K | $96K | $366K | $116K | $250K | 68% |
| 2027 | 420 | $368K | $144K | $512K | $130K | $382K | 75% |
| 2028 | 588 | $501K | $192K | $693K | $194K | $499K | 72% |
| 2029 | 823 | $681K | $240K | $921K | $221K | $700K | 76% |
| 2030 | 1,152 | $926K | $288K | $1214K | $310K | $904K | 74% |
| 2031 | 1,613 | $1258K | $336K | $1594K | $382K | $1212K | 76% |
Each PtP relay destination becomes its own tower site with local WISP coverage and carrier lease revenue. Toggle sites to model different expansion scenarios and see aggregate revenue, backhaul demand, and payback periods.
The Mendota hub connects to 750,000+ people across northern Illinois. Every relay site replicates the model: tower + WISP + carrier leases.
Rockford (150K pop)
[ ------ ]
|
| 80km PtP
|
Quad Cities (380K) MENDOTA HUB DeKalb (45K)
[ ------ ] [ ORIGIN ] [ ACTIVE ]
| / | \ |
| via Sterling / | \ 46km PtP |
| / | \ |
Sterling (22K) / | \ Chicago Peering
[ ACTIVE ] / | \ (via fiber)
53km PtP / | \
/ | \
Ottawa (19K) |
[ ------ ] |
30km PtP |
| 23km PtP
|
LaSalle-Peru (20K)
[ ACTIVE ]
|
| via relay
|
Peoria (115K)
[ ------ ]First relay. Illinois Valley market. Fiber POP backup for Mendota. Immediate revenue.
NIU campus = student market. Gateway to Chicago peering. High sub density.
Western expansion. Bridge to Quad Cities. Underserved market.
Largest market in range. Metro area with multiple tower opportunities. Competitive market.
Close to LaSalle-Peru. Can share backhaul. Starved Rock tourism area.
Massive metro market. Reached via Sterling relay. Mississippi River crossing complicates links.
Reached via LaSalle-Peru relay. Large metro. Bradley University market.
All relay sites feed traffic back through Mendota. As the network grows, the hub backhaul requirement grows with it. This is why dark fiber with upgradeable optics is critical.