What Are Internet Service Providers?

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Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which first began to emerge in the late 1980s and
early 1990s, are the businesses and organizations that provide users with Internet
access and related services. These providers connect customers to customers of other
service providers by way of networks. Often, Internet Service Providers (also called
Internet Access Providers) are companies that provide telecommunications services
including data communications access and telephone connection. The majority of
telephone companies now function as Internet Access Providers as well. ISPs may be
commercial, non-profit, privately owned or community-owned.

What Are the Different Types of Internet Service Providers?

There are quite a few different types of Internet Service Providers available today,
including access, mailbox, hosting, transit, virtual and free.
Access ISPs Employ a variety of technologies to facilitate consumers connection
to their network. These technologies may include broadband or dialup. Always-on
types of broadband connections comprise cable, fiber optic service (FiOS), DSL
(Digital Subscriber Line) and satellite. A number of access providers also provide
email and hosting services.

Mailbox ISPs Offer email mailbox hosting services and email servers to send,
receive and store email. Many mailbox ISPs are also access providers.
Hosting ISPs Offer email, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), web-hosting services,
virtual machines, clouds and physical servers.
Transit ISPs Provide large amounts of bandwidth needed to connect hosting ISPs
and access ISPs together.
Virtual ISPs (VISP) Purchase services from other ISPs to allow customers Internet
access.
Free ISPs (freenets) Provide service free of charge and often display advertisements
while users are connected.

What Are the Services Offered by Internet Service

Providers?
Internet Service Providers deliver a variety of services to their customers. Some of
these services include Internet access, domain name registration, domain name
hosting, dial-up access, leased line access and co-location. As most know, the Internet
is a global system of interconnected computer networks used by billions of people
across the world. This system of networks is linked by a vast assortment of electronic,
optical networking and wireless technologies.

How Should I Select Between Internet Service Providers?

There are a number of factors to evaluate when considering Internet Service
Providers. What providers are available in your region? What download and upload
speeds best suit the needs of your household? What is the difference in pricing
between packages? Location, bandwidth, and pricing should be deliberated and
carefully compared against other competitors offerings.

VPN Security and Design

Pro Virtual private networks offer a much higher level of secure communication
when compared to other remote methods of communication. This is due to the
advanced technologies that are used to protect the network from unauthorized access.

Con The design and security implementation for a virtual private network can be
complex. This means that it requires a professional with a high level of understanding
for the best type of VPN configuration and some of the security issues that can occur
when using a VPN.
VPN Cost

Pro When it comes to operating a virtual private network within an organization

the costs are significantly lower than other types of configurations. This is mainly due
to the absence of variables for different types of communications over the VPN and the
opportunity to communicate securely at low cost in other parts of the world.

Con Reliability can become a factor depending upon the service provider that you
choose. If the VPN utilizes the Internet it is important to work with a provider that can
guarantee minimal downtime.

VPN Scalability

Pro Virtual private networks are very flexible in terms of growing with the
company and adding new users to the network. This type of infrastructure allows for
scalability without having to add new components to accommodate the growth.

Con If it happens to be necessary to create additional infrastructure the solutions

can become incompatible and cause technical issues if you use a different product
vendor than you used for the current infrastructure. On the other side of the coin and
depending upon the product vendor you use, working with the same vendor can
sometimes increase the cost of deploying additional infrastructure.
VPNs and Mobile Workers

Pro Virtual private networks offer more flexibility for business partners to communicate
over a secure connection. A VPN will also create more ease of communication with remote
workers and enable them to check in at the office without sacrificing security.
Con The use of mobile devices to initiate connectivity to the virtual private network can
cause security issues especially if the connection is wireless. For this reason, an added
solution is sometimes needed to tighten up security when logging on to the VPN with
a mobile device.