ISP
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Networking
| Stands for | Internet service provider |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
ISP stands for Internet service provider, a networking abbreviation.
A company that connects homes and businesses to the internet over cable, fiber, DSL, mobile or satellite links, and usually supplies a modem or router, IP addresses and DNS resolvers. Larger ISPs also exchange traffic with one another at peering points and internet exchanges.
Example: Speeds dropped every evening, so we called the ISP and they replaced the cable modem.
Usage notes
Commercial dial-up access for the public began around 1989, when The World in Massachusetts started selling accounts. ISPs are often grouped into tiers: Tier 1 networks reach the entire internet without paying for transit, while smaller providers buy transit from them. In the United States, rules on whether ISPs may block or slow traffic, known as net neutrality, have changed several times since 2015. Pronounced as letters.
Related abbreviations
More networking abbreviations
- IPsec – Internet Protocol Security
- IPv4 – Internet Protocol version 4
- IPv6 – Internet Protocol version 6
- IRC – Internet Relay Chat
- IS-IS – Intermediate System to Intermediate System
- iSCSI – Internet Small Computer Systems Interface
- IXP – Internet exchange point
- L2TP – Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol
- LAN – Local area network
- LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
- MAC – Media access control (address)
- MAN – Metropolitan area network