Internet service provider

      company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. In addition to providing access to the Internet, ISPs may also provide software packages (such as browsers), e-mail accounts, and a personal Web site or home page. ISPs can host Web sites for businesses and can also build the Web sites themselves. ISPs are all connected to each other through network access points, public network facilities on the Internet backbone.

      The rise of commercial Internet services and applications helped fuel a rapid commercialization of the Internet. This phenomenon was the result of several other factors as well. One important factor was the introduction of the personal computer (PC) and the workstation in the early 1980s—a development that in turn was fueled by unprecedented progress in integrated circuit technology and an attendant rapid decline in computer prices. Another factor, which took on increasing importance, was the emergence of Ethernet and other “local area networks” (LANs) to link personal computers. But other forces were at work too. Following the restructuring of AT&T Corporation (AT&T Corporation) in 1984, the U.S. National Science Foundation took advantage of various new options for its national-level digital backbone service, known as NSFNET. In 1988 the U.S. Corporation for National Research Initiatives received approval to conduct an experiment linking a commercial e-mail service (MCI Mail) to the Internet. This application was the first Internet connection to a commercial provider that was not also part of the research community. Approval quickly followed to allow other e-mail providers access, and the Internet began its first explosion in traffic.

      In 1993 federal legislation allowed NSF to open the NSFNET backbone to commercial users. Prior to that time, use of the backbone was subject to an “acceptable use” policy, established and administered by NSF, under which commercial use was limited to those applications that served the research community. NSF recognized that commercially supplied network services, now that they were available, would ultimately be far less expensive than continued funding of special-purpose network services.

      Also in 1993 the University of Illinois made widely available Mosaic, a new type of computer program, known as a browser, that ran on most types of computers and, through its “point-and-click” interface, simplified access, retrieval, and display of files through the Internet. Mosaic incorporated a set of access protocols and display standards originally developed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research ( CERN) by Tim Berners-Lee (Berners-Lee, Sir Tim) for a new Internet application called the World Wide Web (WWW). In 1994 Netscape Communications Corp. (originally called Mosaic Communications Corporation) was formed to further develop the Mosaic browser and server software for commercial use. Shortly thereafter, the software giant Microsoft Corporation became interested in supporting Internet applications on personal computers and developed its Internet Explorer Web browser (based initially on Mosaic) and other programs. These new commercial capabilities accelerated the growth of the Internet, which as early as 1988 had already been growing at the rate of 100 percent per year.

      By the late 1990s there were approximately 10,000 ISPs around the world, more than half located in the United States. However, most of these ISPs provided only local service and relied on access to regional and national ISPs for wider connectivity. Consolidation began at the end of the decade, with many small to medium-sized providers merging or being acquired by larger ISPs. Among these larger providers were groups such as America Online, Inc. ( AOL), which started as a dial-up information service with no Internet connectivity but made a transition in the late 1990s to become the leading provider of Internet services in the world—with more than 25 million subscribers by 2000 and with branches in Australia, Europe, South America, and Asia. Meanwhile, many new state-owned ISPs entered the business in large national markets, such as China, India, and Indonesia, and the ISPs quickly eclipsed the subscriber base of any traditional commercial ISP.

      Dial-up Internet customers also continued to shift to broadband service for faster Internet connections. The entry-level broadband service offered by telephone and cable television companies cost as little as dial-up services in some parts of the United States. As a result of the shift, dial-up Internet provider AOL had watched its base of dial-up service subscribers decline from nearly 27 million in 2002 to 17.7 million by 2006. In an effort to reposition itself, AOL no longer sought to be the premier provider of dial-up service and instead tried to become a free advertising-supported Internet portal like Yahoo (Yahoo! Inc.) and Google. AOL offered its customers two approaches: they could still pay for dial-up Internet access from AOL, or they could pay for Internet access from another company and still access many AOL features for free.

      With the proliferation of Internet sites that broadcast video and other large files, ISPs have pushed for the right to offer differently priced tiers of service to online content or software providers on the basis of their Internet use. Proponents of net neutrality believe, among other things, that network providers should be required to treat all broadband consumers equally instead of charging some consumers higher prices for using more bandwidth (data-carrying capacity). Opponents of net neutrality question whether cable and telephone companies could afford to invest in advanced security or transmission services if they could not charge a premium for them. In general, big Internet providers of content and software support net neutrality, while the ISPs are against it. Legislation will be required to settle the dispute.

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