Internet service provider

An internet service provider (abbr. ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services. In the past, most ISP's were run by the phone company. Now ISP's can be started by just about anyone. They provide services such as Internet transit, domain name registration and hosting, dial-up or DSL access, leased line access and colocation.

Internet hosting services run servers, provide managed hosting, and include the Internet connection.

ISP connection options

Generally, an ISP charges a monthly access fee to the consumer. The consumer then has access to the Internet, although the speed at which this data is transferred varies widely.

Internet connection speed can generally be divided into two categories: dialup and broadband. Dialup connections require the use of a phone line, and usually have connections of 56 kbit/s or less. Broadband connections can be either ISDN, Broadband wireless access, Cable modem, DSL, Fiber Optics, Satellite or Ethernet. Broadband is always on (except ISDN that is a circuit switching technology), and varies in speed between 64 Kb and 20 Mb per second or more.

With the increasing popularity of file sharing and downloading music and the general demand for faster page loads, higher bandwidth connections are becoming more popular.

Virtual ISP

A Virtual ISP (vISP) re-sells to the general public Internet access purchased from a wholesale ISP. The vISP's role is to provide any services beyond Internet connectivity, such as e-mail, web hosting, and technical support. The vISP must perform all authentication and accounting functions necessary to provide access and then bill their users for it. This model allows for larger ISPs to increase returns on their investment into what is generally a geographically large, high capacity network, a network which smaller ISPs as customers of the larger ISP can use to serve customers in locations that would previously have been unavailable to them.

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 popularity of unmetered internet access.

History

The history of Internet Service Providers is integral to the development of the formation of the modern internet, as well as the economic impact it had on the world. Commercial use of the Internet began in the early 1990s, with companies like HE.Net and MindSpring serving limited customers and connections starting in 1994. Many started out as small companies with home made software, and server facilities in their garages. Users would pay around $20 (£11.50) to $40 (£23) for a dial-up connection. Connection speeds ranged from 9.6 kbit/s to 14.4 kbit/s, and connections were unreliable. At the same time, larger companies such as CompuServe and America Online had their own networks and proprietary software for connecting - therefore CompuServe and AOL were separate networks from the Internet, and neither continue to exist.

V.90 was developed in 1998, bringing download speeds up to 56 kbit/s. Larger companies began to offer Internet services, propelling acceptance of the Internet through advertising. Internet prices also began to stabilize. The price for a dialup connection became $19.95 a month.

By the 2000s, the battle over broadband also began to appear. DSL, which was over phone lines, was an option for traditional ISPs. Cable companies also became ISPs by offering cable modem access. During the late 90s and early 2000s these technologies were in intense competition. Pricing, technology, and market share drove the Internet economy. Smaller ISPs however did not have access to the cable system and DSL was too expensive. Many small ISPs began using wireless technology to provide broadband access. Using this wireless technology fueled the way for wireless networks that are in common use today.

In 2000, The dot-com bust proved a serious threat to the established ISPs. Smaller ISPs offering low-cost internet served a major challenge, as well as an overall slump in the economy. Popularity of the Internet was still on the rise but the companies providing the services were finding a hard time breaking even. Many of the small ISPs still functioned as normal as they operated on revenues and not overinflated stocks.

As of 2006, the larger ISPs are turning a profit, often through a combination of wireless, wired and content services, all subscription based. One major challenge in the near future is that of free wireless broadband access, possibly provided as a municipality.

ISP liability for third party content

Internet Service Providers are key players in the online world. As they have physical control over the content (gatekeepers) one key issue is the question if and to what extent they should be made responsible for third party content. For example: should AOL be responsible for libellous content posted by a user in one of their forums? Should the victim of that libel be able to force AOL to take that content down? In the USA to date, the answer has been no. Legal liability has been places on the consumer to protect themselves while the ISP is only responsible for internet connectivity. Unless specified otherwise in a service contract.

How the ISP can offer internet access

One of the questions people ask is how the ISPs they themselves are connected to the internet, and how they can share this internet connection. More information can be found at howstuffworks.

The U.S. liability regime

The U.S. approach to ISP liability is more sporadic than systematic. The respective statutes only regulate ISP liability in regards to their capacity as publishers and in regards to copyrighted content.

47 U.S.C. sec 230, which immunizes ISP from liability as publishers, was obscurely enacted as an amendment of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA). The expressed aim of the CDA was fighting pornography on the internet. The immunisation of ISPs was seen more as a necessary condition to enable ISPs to contribute to this task after they were discouraged to do so in consequence of Stratton Oakmont v Prodigy.

As it turned out in the end, the CDA was ruled unconstitutional, but 47 U.S.C. sec 230 stayed in place, serving as a blanket shield from liability for all ISPs, even those who do not monitor or that have taken notice of the libellous content on their sites.

17 U.S.C sec 512, which was enacted as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998, creates a safe harbour for ISPs against copyright liability if they subscribe to a code of practice relating to notice, take-down and put-back. Therefore the DMCA imposes heavier burdens on ISPs in regards to copyrighted content than the CDA does in regards to libellous content.

Whereas the DMCA provisions concerning ISP liability are mainly seen as a fair and balanced approach, the insulation by the CDA and its broad application through US courts (particularly the judicial activism of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals) has often been criticised as being too soft on ISPs and to little protective of victims. The cases Zeran v America Online, Blumenthal v Drudge, and Carafano v. Metrosplash.com -- rulings in which the online service was not held liable for libellous content and could not be forced to take the content down -- are often considered as examples of undue insulation of ISPs.

The liability regime of the European Union

The European Union dealt with the problem of ISP liability in a broad and comprehensive manner. The key norms are articles 12-15 of the Directive 2000/31/EC on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) of June 8 2000. By dealing with various activities separately (mere conduit, caching, hosting) it aims to provide a balanced solution. In regards to the content however the directive follows a horizontal approach and does not distinguish between different kinds of content. This is a major difference to the US where legislation was drafted to tackle specific problems connected to specific content and which led to the fragmentation of the liability regime.

Related services

External links

competitive-isp.info Book on Internet Service Providers
ISP Buying Guide
Howstuffworks- internet architecture
ISP Information
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act A paper by Ditesh Kumar discussing the US ISP Liabilities (Available in ODT Format)

Internet service providers

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