WhatIs.com

ISP (internet service provider)

By Alexander S. Gillis

What is an ISP?

An ISP (internet service provider) is a company that provides individuals and organizations access to the internet and other related services. An ISP has the equipment and the telecommunication line access required to have a point of presence on the internet for the geographic area served.

ISPs make it possible for customers to access the internet while also providing additional services such as email, domain registration and web hosting. ISPs may also provide different internet connection types, such as cable and fiber. Connections can also come in the form of high-speed broadband or non-broadband. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) states that to be considered high-speed, a connection must have download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds a minimum of 3 Mbps.

An ISP is also sometimes referred to as an internet access provider. ISP is also sometimes used as an abbreviation for independent service provider to distinguish a service provider that is a separate company from a telephone company.

How do ISPs work?

ISPs are connected to one or more high-speed internet lines. Larger ISPs have their own high-speed leased lines, so they are less dependent on telecommunications services and can provide better service to their customers.

ISPs also keep thousands of servers in data centers -- the number of servers depends on their internet service area. These large data centers manage all customer traffic. Multiple ISPs are also connected to large backbone routing centers.

ISPs are grouped into the following three tiers:

ISPs and the different types of services

ISPs provide the following internet services:

Most ISPs offer a combination of these services.

What are examples of ISPs?

According to independent research by BroadbandNow and data from the FCC, there are more than 2,900 ISPs in the U.S. These ISPs offer a variety of services. The top five ISPs by estimated population covered include HughesNet, Viasat Internet, AT&T Wireless, Verizon and T-Mobile.

To break this down based on the tiers examined above, tier 1 ISPs include the following U.S.-based companies:

Tier 2 ISPs include the following companies:

Tier 3 ISPs include smaller regional and local providers.

How to choose an ISP

Users should choose an ISP based on several factors, including the following:

ISPs may throttle, or slow down, a user's internet speed in order to regulate traffic and clear up network congestion. ISPs may also throttle a user's internet speed when the user reaches a specific data limit. However, throttling violates the idea of net neutrality, which is the prevailing thought that ISPs should give equal treatment to all communications over the internet.

As an example, ISPs can choose to throttle specific websites that users visit simply because they take up a lot of data. ISPs have, in the past, throttled their customers' internet when connecting to Netflix -- meaning the user experience on Netflix's platform is diminished due to the ISP.

Learn about potential speed inequalities with broadband, such as the projected internet speeds in different locations in the future.

09 Feb 2022

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