Internet service provider
An
Internet service provider (abbr.
ISP, also called
Internet access provider or
IAP) is a business or organization that offers users access to the
Internet and related services. In the past, most ISP's were run by the phone company. Now ISP's can be started by just about anyone. They provide services such as Internet
transit,
domain name registration and hosting,
dial-up or
DSL access,
leased line access and
colocation.
Internet hosting services run servers, provide managed hosting, and include the Internet connection.
Generally, an ISP charges a monthly access fee to the consumer. The consumer then has access to the
Internet, although the speed at which this
data is transferred varies widely.
Internet connection speed can generally be divided into two categories:
dialup and
broadband.
Dialup connections require the use of a phone line, and usually have connections of 56 kbit/s or less.
Broadband connections can be either
ISDN,
Broadband wireless access,
Cable modem,
DSL,
Fiber Optics,
Satellite or
Ethernet. Broadband is always on (except ISDN that is a
circuit switching technology), and varies in speed between 64 Kb and 20 Mb per second or more.
With the increasing popularity of
file sharing and downloading music and the general demand for faster page loads, higher bandwidth connections are becoming more popular.
A Virtual ISP (vISP) re-sells to the general public Internet access purchased from a wholesale ISP. The vISP's role is to provide any services beyond Internet connectivity, such as e-mail, web hosting, and technical support. The vISP must perform all authentication and accounting functions necessary to provide access and then bill their users for it. This model allows for larger ISPs to increase returns on their investment into what is generally a geographically large, high capacity network, a network which smaller ISPs as customers of the larger ISP can use to serve customers in locations that would previously have been unavailable to them.
A vISP can also refer to a completely automated white label service offered to anyone at no cost or for a minimal set-up fee. The actual ISP providing the service generates revenue from the calls and may also share a percentage of that revenue with the owner of the vISP. All technical aspects are dealt with leaving the owner of vISP with the task of promoting the service. This sort of service is however declining due to the popularity of unmetered internet access.
One of the questions people ask is how the ISPs themselves are connected to the internet, and how they can share this internet connection. More information can be found at howstuffworks.
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Broadband access**
Digital Subscriber Line**
Fixed wireless access**
Cable**
Triple play*
Internet hosting service**
Web hosting service**
E-mail hosting service**
DNS hosting service*
Dynamic DNS*
ISP Buying Guide*
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act A paper by Ditesh Kumar discussing the US ISP Liabilities (
Available in ODT Format)
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UK ISP Review*
THE MATRIX MACHINE Project
