ISP stands for internet Service provider. An Internet service provider (called an ISP for short) is a business that offers user’s access to the Internet and related services. These are the entry point for the Internet users to the vast network of Internet.

Many ISPs are Telephone Companies, or at least work closely with Telephone Companies. They provide dial-up or DSL access through “leased” lines. Generally, an ISP charges a monthly access fee from the Consumer.

If the ISP is the same Company as your Phone Company, then the charge will often times arrive with your Phone bill. The Consumer then has access to the Internet. Internet connection speed can generally be divided into two categories, one is Dial up and another one is Broadband. Dialup connections require the use of a Phone line, and usually have connections of 56 kb/s or less. This is slow speed but it could be enough low end users.

Broadband connections have a much larger series of options that don’t tie up the phone, and theoretically, is always on and available. General speeds vary from 64 Kb to 20 Mb per second or even more. So this is faster when compared to the first one.

Let’s review about the history of Internet. The history of Internet Service Providers is tied directly to the development of the Internet itself. While it’s obvious that ISPs wouldn’t exist without the Internet, the modern day Internet could very well not exist in its current form without ISPs to make the Internet as popular as it is now.

At first there were mainly a few large Giants, but as the Technology advanced, more and more smaller Companies began to rise up, usually by offering good deals on local service. By the 2000s, the battle over broadband began to appear. DSL, which was over phone lines, was an option for traditional ISPs. Cable companies jumped into the ISP game by offering the “new and improved” cable modem access. Pricing, Technology, and market share drove the Internet economy.

Smaller ISPs, however, did not have access to a cable system and DSL was too expensive. The only way to adjust and compete was to begin using wireless technology to provide Broadband access. These developments led to the advancement of the wireless Technology that is used today. Smaller ISPs offering low-cost internet have served traditional ISPs a major challenge.

Popularity of the Internet continued to rise, but the Companies providing the Services struggled. Many of the small ISPs fared better, since they operated on revenues and not over inflated stocks. So the ISP is like an ocean full of several facts.