ISP (Internet Service Providers)

ISPs (Internet service providers), such as AOL and MSN, have made the Internet accessible to millions of people through dial-up connections. Fig. 2 shows a simple layout of how your computer attaches to the ISP servers, which provide you with a connection that opens the doorway to billions of web pages around the globe. As Fig. 2 illustrates, you will normally dial-up to your ISP through your 56K modem or by DSL and confirm a connection to the Internet. ISPs will normally charge you a monthly fee to provide you with the access, in addition to providing other services such as email, web-hosting, etc. More people are now switching over to broadband DSL than dial-up because of the increased speeds and the lower costs.

   Fig.2  

Page 4: Using the Internet