I learned last week that my connection to the Internet, my dedicated and I don't pay for it connection to the Internet, may be going away soon.
Currently, it's a sweet deal—my provider, Atlantic Internet, [1] is kind enough to pay for my ISDN connection, 32 static IP addresses and a colocated server at their facility, and in return I help out occasionally, fixing the occasional network problem (routing, DNS, etc) and general consulting when they need it.
I use half the addresses here at my home location, and the other half are used by Mark [2] on his home network; our two networks are connected via a dedicated PPP link. As it is, I'm the only one locally among my friends (well, except Mark) with a WAN (Wide Area Network).
But all that may change. When, I don't exactly know, but at the outside I'm looking at two months, maximum. Mark just called and said he's been looking into getting DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). And fortunately, he just found a company that will provide him with a connection via Boca Teeca.
The problem Mark has is that while Boca Teeca is across the street (more or less) from Mark, that is not a CO (Central Office). Mark's CO is Boca Main, over four miles away. A border issue, you know, the so close yet so far type thing.
So finding a company that will hook him up to Boca Teeca is real good. Yet trying to get static IPs are impossible, or very expensive. But it's not like I don't have resources available. There exists the very real possibility of us getting an entire C-block of IP addresses for our own use. A portable (i.e. one that can be rerouted and is not tied to any one provider) C-block.
Talk about rare.
[1] http://www.aibusiness.net/