What Is an ISP?
ISPs (Internet Service Provider) developed to offer access to the Internet to users on a wide spectrum. Before ISPs came along, the only way to get on the Internet was through a university or government account. The beginnings of today's multitude of commercial Internet ISPs started in 1994 when the National Science Foundation authorized four private businesses to create public access points to the Internet.
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Function
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An ISP provides the necessary technical and communication services to allow a home or business user to connect to the Internet either through a wire or wireless connection.
Features
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Access to an ISP begins at the user's computer through a modem, connecting to the service provider either through high-speed cable, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), dial-up (telephone) or through wireless access points.
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Connection Speed
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With the growth of large chunks of data transmitted between hosts and users, including streaming video and audio, the connection speeds have become crucial. ISPs offering larger upload and download speeds attract more customers.
Benefits
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Without ISPs providing the expensive equipment to access the backbone of the Internet (sharing the cost among many customers), the current use of the Web would not be possible. Some ISPs also provide Web hosting and email.
Potential
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The future of ISPs is subject to competing stresses as worldwide demand for bandwidth grows, while the expanding number of customers starts to reach market saturation. ISPs entering into new ventures and business models will also continue to growth.
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