User:Jager68/Internet Service Provider

An Internet service provider (ISP, also called Internet access provider) is a business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services. Many but not all ISPs are telephone companies. They provide services such as Internet transit, domain name registration and hosting, dial-up access, leased line access and colocation.

ISP connection options
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 56Kbs or less. Broadband connections can be either ISDN, Broadband wireless access, Cable modem, DSL, Satellite or Ethernet. Broadband is always on (except ISDN that is a circuit switching technology), and varies in speed between 64Kb and 20+Mb per second.

In the early 2000s, ISPs in the United States faced serious challenges. Telecommunications and IT-related stocks fell sharply, and many ISPs were forced to close, restructure, sell, or merge. Some telcos like Worldcom were spectacular collapses. The slower-than-expected growth of broadband services and key decisions on broadband open access matters all added to the industry's problems.

By late 2005 a 1Mb connection was being described as slow within the United Kingdom. Many modern software add ons demand minimum speeds of 256K or 512K. 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.

Virtual ISP
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.

History
The history of Internet Service Providers is interesting in development and economics of the Internet environment. Commercial use of the Internet began in the early 90s. Companies like MindSpring, who started in February of 1994 with 32 users and 8 modems, began popping up. Most were homegrown ISPs with modems and servers in their garages, basements and so forth. Users would pay anything from $20 to $40 for a dial-up connection. Connection speeds could range from 9600bps to 14,400bps and connections were unreliable. Also during this time companies like America Online (AOL) had their own networks and proprietary software for connecting.

Connecting to the Internet in the beginning proved to be quite a challenge. Users had to figure out how to create dial-up connection on their own using Windows 3.1. Windows at the time was not very Internet friendly. Mosaic, developed at CERN by Tim Berners-Lee, was the typical browser. Email was not integrated into operating system and was also a challenge. For each component of the Internet; WWW,email,newgroups, users had to load a different program. Floppy disks were also the means of distribution.

As the Internet gained momentum the technology began to evolve. Faster connections and easier software became available. V.90 which brought download speeds up to 56k or 56,000bps developed in 1998. Larger companies, like some of the Bell companies, began to offer Internet services. Most of the larger companies rode on the backs of the grassroots pioneers but they helped the Internet gain popularity with big marketing budgets and advertising.

Internet prices also began to stabilize. The price for a dialup became $19.95/mo. Because of the economies of running an ISP it was very tough to break even at $19.95, but that's what the public was willing to pay.

Services and popularity took off in the latter part of the 1990s. Microsoft accepted the Internet was here to stay and began pushing their browser, Internet Explorer. The battle over broadband also began to appear. DSL, which was over phone lines, was an option for traditional ISPs. Cable companies also became ISPs by offering cable modem access. During the late 90s and early 2000 these technologies were in a head to head battle. Pricing, technology, and market share drove the Internet economy. Smaller ISPs however did not have access to the cable system and DSL was too expensive. Many small ISPs began using wireless technology to provide broadband access. Using this wireless technology fueled the way for wireless networks that are in common use today.

In 2000 the Internet was fast and furious and ISPs were scrambling to stay ahead as best possible. However it all came crashing down when the dot com bust. Under priced and sometime free Internet access and over inflated stock prices sent the Internet world into a tailspin. Popularity of the Internet was still on the rise but the companies providing the services were finding a hard time breaking even. Many of the small ISPs still functioned as normal as they operated on revenues and not overinflated stocks.

In 2002 the Internet market seemed to settle and ISPs were set to move forward. Broadband in mid 2000 is the connection of choice. DSL and cable modem are the most popular broadband connections. Wireless Internet is still offered but has become more popular on cell phones. ISPs are mainly large phone and cable companies while many of the smaller ISPs who pioneered the Internet were bought out or simply faded away.

Other relevant acronyms

 * IAP (Internet Access Provider)
 * NSP (Network Service Provider)

Related services

 * Broadband access
 * Digital Subscriber Line
 * Fixed wireless access
 * Cable
 * Triple play
 * Web hosting services
 * Usenet servers
 * Email services
 * DNS
 * Dynamic DNS