Capital and cash.
WHAT THE PATTERN IS
Infrastructure paid for first, recovered monthly over years.
WHAT THAT PRODUCES
Heavy capital requirement before subscriber revenue accumulates.
WHAT TO CALCULATE
Capital per site and per subscriber Monthly revenue per subscriber Months to recover
WHY
It determines how fast you can expand.
WHAT THE FIXED COSTS ARE
Upstream capacity Site rentals and power Staff Licence fees and levies Maintenance
WHY UPSTREAM IS THE LARGEST VARIABLE DECISION
It is committed in advance and it must be paid whether subscribers use it or not.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Break-even subscribers against your fixed costs.
WHAT TO TRACK
Subscribers connected and active Revenue per subscriber Cost per subscriber Churn Capacity cost as a proportion of revenue
WHY CAPACITY COST AS A PROPORTION
It is the clearest indicator of whether pricing and contention are right.
WHAT TO MONITOR
Cash, weekly.
WHY
Upstream and power costs do not wait.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Reserves covering fixed costs for a period.
WHAT FUNDING OPTIONS EXIST
Equipment finance Subscriber prepayment and annual plans Equity Bank facilities against contracted revenue
WHY ANNUAL PLANS MATTER
They fund expansion from subscribers rather than lenders.
WHAT TO CONSIDER OFFERING
A discount for annual payment.
WHAT TO AVOID
Expanding faster than cash supports.
WHY
Half-built networks generate cost without revenue.
