Organization that provides Internet services, including access to the Internet. Several types of company provide Internet access, including online information services such as CompuServe and America Online (AOL), electronic conferencing systems such as the WELL and Compulink Information eXchange, and local bulletin board systems (BBSs). Most of the more recently-founded ISPs, such as Demon Internet, offer only direct access to the Internet without the burden of running services of their own just for their members. ISPs vary in the way they charge for services: some charge a flat monthly or quarterly fee; others do not charge for Internet provision instead getting revenue from advertising and electronic commerce; others obtain revenue through complex arrangements with the companies that provide physical delivery such as telecommunications and cable companies. ISPs serve individuals as well as companies and act as gatekeepers to the Internet. They are linked to each other through Network Access Points (NAPs) which are major Internet connection points.
Such companies typically work out cheaper for their users, as they charge a low, flat rate for unlimited usage. By contrast, commercial online services typically charge by the hour or minute.
The second largest Internet Service Provider, after AOL, was formed in the USA by the merger of Mindspring Enterprises, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and EarthLink Network in Pasadena, California, completed in February 2000. Mindspring had a market value of about $1.5 billion and EarthLink was worth about $2 billion. The deal created a company named EarthLink, Inc, with more than 3 million subscribers (to AOL's 20 million).
In September 1998, the UK ISP scene was revolutionized by the launch by Dixons, the UK high-street electrical retailer, of Freeserve, the first ISP with no registration or set-up fees and no monthly subscription charges. Users still have to pay for local-rate telephone connection charges. In 2000, this freedom from charges was taken a step further with the launch of services free of telephone charges, but in some cases with a flat fee, by BT, AltaVista, ntl, and others. BT also introduced a flat-fee broadband service using ADSL.
http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Internet+provider
