Internet Service Provider

A business that provides subscriber-based access to the Internet. Subscribers can be individuals or businesses. ISPs operate at the fourth or lowest level of the Internet. At the third level, regional providers aggregate traffic from lower-order ISPs to the second, backbone level. The highest level in North America is the NAP (Network Access Point), which acts as peer-to peer interconnection points for the largest backbones. ISPs use Internet routers, servers and rack-mounted modems to provide a variety of services, including web site hosting, FTP service, e-mail accounts, unified messaging, audio and video broadcasting, Internet telephony and fax gateway services.

Abbreviation(s): ISP