"Internet company" redirects here. For Internet-based companies, see Dot-com company. "ISP" redirects here. For Internet-based companies, see Dot-com company. "ISP" redirects here. For other uses, see ISP (disambiguation). This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. An Internet service provider (abbr. ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a business or organization that provides consumers or businesses access to the Internet and related services. In the past, most ISPs were run by the phone companies. Now, ISPs can be started by just about any individual or group with sufficient money and expertise. In addition to Internet access via various technologies such as dial-up and DSL, they may provide a combination of services including Internet transit, domain name registration and hosting, web hosting, and colocation. Contents 1 History 2 ISP connection options 3 How ISPs connect to the Internet Just as their customers pay them for Internet access, ISPs themselves pay upstream ISPs for Internet access. In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP using one of the technologies described above, and the ISP uses this connection to send or receive any data to or from parts of the rest of the Internet. A vISP can also refer to a completely automated white label service offered to anyone at no cost or for a minimal set-up fee. The actual ISP providing the service generates revenue from the calls and may also share a percentage of that revenue with the owner of the vISP. All technical aspects are dealt with leaving the owner of vISP with the task of promoting the service. This sort of service is however declining due to the

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