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A weekly syndicated web column for InfoQuest Internet Technologies, Inc.


WelchWrite Main -- Douglas E. Welch -- Rosanne Welch


What's an ISP?

January 11, 2000

© 2000, Douglas E. Welch


Even with more and more people joining the Internet world everyday there can be confusion about how it all works. This is not surprising as software installers and setup "wizards" allow us to bypass the majority of cryptic commands and settings involved with getting connected. Unless you have worked in a computer job you probably have never had to deal with IP addresses, name servers or other TCP/IP settings. All the better for you. Unfortunately, though, you can sometimes run up against a piece of techno-jargon that you don't understand. The term ISP (Internet Service Provider) is one of the first.

The Middleman

Your ISP is the middleman between your computer and the Internet as a whole. This company provides the local phone numbers your computer calls. At each one of these telephone numbers is a bank of modems, sometimes ranging into the hundreds. These modems are then connected to a router that allows all the data flowing through those modems to enter and exit the Internet.

You could have a more direct connection to the Internet using the same high-speed telephone lines used by large web sites and companies, but the cost and complexity of these connections is far above what you would want or need. An ISP allows relatively fast access to the Internet, via modem at a fraction of the cost.

There are thousands of ISP's currently operating today. You may recognize names like Earthlink and MindSpring. Traditional telephone companies such as AT&T, Pacific Bell and GTE also provide ISP services.

Online services

There are some companies that are acting like ISPs although their history and operations are quite different. The best known of these "online services" is America Online. In the days before the Internet was available to the public, online services were one of the only ways for computer users to communicate. Theses online services had no connection to each other so if you wanted to email someone on AOL, you also had to be an AOL member. These online services also produced content of their own such as news, entertainment information and user groups. Only their members could access this information.

When the Internet started becoming popular the members of online services wanted to be able to access the information that was available only on the Internet. To keep its members happy, AOL and others opened a back door to the Internet. Over the last few years they have provided more and more access to the Internet including the World Wide Web. In most cases, AOL members don't make use of any of the local information or AOL services. They merely use AOL as their ISP to connect to the Internet.

The future

Over the next few years the total number of ISPs will probably continue to shrink as larger companies absorb smaller ones. The ISP business is very competitive at the moment and will only continue to be. Online services will probably come to resemble traditional ISPs more and more. Already AOL has some areas that are based on the World Wide Web instead of their older proprietary systems. Prodigy re-invented itself entirely as a ISP after its online service was abandoned by users in favor of the Internet.

Who to choose

I am often asked to recommend an ISP for those people just getting started on the Internet. Since I don't use all the ISPs, nor do I have a way of easily comparing them I give this advice. Talk to your friends, co-workers and relatives who are already using the Internet. Find out if they are happy with their current ISP. A word-of-mouth recommendation is the best way to pick an ISP since you know someone who has personal experience using them.

See you on the Internet!


Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and computer consultant in Van Nuys, California. He also writes Career Opportunities, a weekly column on high-tech careers and A Gardener's Notebook. You can find more of Douglas' writing on his web page at: http://www.welchwrite.com/

He can reached via email at douglas@welchwrite.com


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