What is ISP

 An ISP or Internet service provider is simply a company that provides internet access to organizations and homes. In other words, an ISP provides you with internet access in return for a fee, which is usually charged monthly. Without an ISP, you won’t be able to connect to the internet and all the things we take for granted today — accessing social media, shopping online, or even reading this article — wouldn’t be possible.

Access to the internet is not as simple as it looks. It requires very specific routing, telecommunications, and networking equipment. ISPs help users access networks that actually have this equipment so that they can access the internet in turn. ISPs route internet traffic, resolve domain names and maintain network infrastructure in order to make internet access possible.

How do ISPs really work?

The first layer of internet access is Tier 1 Internet Service Providers. These ISPs have access to all the networks on the internet. You can think of them as the major highways of the internet, connecting all corners of the World Wide Web. Tier 1 ISPs then sell access to their networks to Tier 2 ISPs which then sell internet access directly to home users and businesses. Sometimes, a second intermediary ISP or a Tier 3 ISP will end up buying this network access from a Tier 2 ISP and then selling it to end-users.

When you connect to the internet, traffic goes from your modem to the Tier 3/Tier 2 ISPs network, then to a Tier 1 ISP’s network and then back down through another network of ISPs, after which it reaches the destination.

The underlying technology behind this process can be multi-fold — from DSL to cable to satellite to fibre optics to wi-fi to analog telephone lines or dial-up. That’s the reason that many telecom companies and cable providers also double-up as ISPs — their underlying infrastructure can be used to accommodate the internet traffic.

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