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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