Broadband ISPs
GUIDE

What is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?

Description: The world of the internet - and how to get on it - can be a murky one filled with technical information that is hard to understand. So why not start at the beginning with details of what an ISP is?

An internet service provider is an organization which will give you access to the internet in return for a monthly fee. There may also be initial one off set up costs involved, which will vary from company to company.

Not all internet service providers use the same means to provide people with an internet connection however. Some are primarily cable companies, while others offer a DSL (digital subscriber line) service that uses the phone line you already have.

Companies which offer satellite television also offer internet by way of their satellite dishes, which is a particularly good choice for those people who are in remote areas a fair distance away from their provider and need to be able to get a good connection. ISPs which use cable or DSL technology tend not to be able to offer such a good service for those people who live further away from them.

An internet service provider will also be able to offer you wireless access, giving you much greater versatility compared to other services.

The prices charged by the different internet service providers vary greatly, and each one will also offer more than one option as regards speed. For example, even though a cable ISP will only offer cable internet access, there may be several different connection speeds available. There is usually a standard speed and then one or more higher speeds which you would have to pay more to be able to receive. Even then there is no guarantee you will ever receive the top speed that is advertised, so you need to weigh up the pros and cons of being offered faster packages by any ISP.