In today’s modern and fast paced time, internet connectivity has become vital for both the home and business. A means to get connected to the worldwide web has therefore become an in demand or some may say a necessary part of life. This connection to the internet is provided by an Internet Service Provider.
What is an Internet Service Provider Anyway?
An internet service provider is an organization or company that provides individuals, businesses and organisations, reliable access to internet service and other related services like virtual and website hosting. An Internet Service Provider, often referred to as an ISP, have the essential telecommunication infrastructure and equipment access, needed to provide service in your geographic area. ISP’s often have large networks that span whole or part countries allowing them to provide high speed service access.
As part of your monthly service, an ISP will often provide you with software, hardware to connect to the internet, an email address, along with a physical phone line. Obviously in some areas mobile internet access is the only viable option, in which case no physical phone line is needed to connect to the internet. Connection to the internet from an ISP is independent of web hosting or other services that are already provided through equipment permanently connected to the internet.
Aside from serving individual clients, internet service providers also serve companies delivering direct connections at premium prices, guaranteeing better performance and less conjestion over consumer bases networks.
Services Offered by an Internet Service Provider
An ISP delivers a variety of services to their clients and some of these include but are not limited to the following:
- Internet access
- Domain name hosting
- Domain name registration
- Leased line access
- Dial-up access
- Virtual and Physical Hosting
As more and more devices are connected to the internet, the boundaries between how services are provided and distributed will change. More devices will be connected for longer periods of time and as a result will be able to potentially host some of their own data without the need of additional ISP services.
Choosing the Best Internet Service Provider
There are many essential factors you need to evaluate when it comes to choosing the best internet service provider. You first need to determine the internet service providers found within your region. The factors that you need to consider are:
- Location
- Pricing and Deals
- Internet service packages
- Speed
- Bandwidth
- Other offerings
Often our first instinct is to be price driven. In the ISP world, to make profit, often services are over sold. In practice this means that at certain times of the day the access to the internet can feel slow or unresponsive. It is always best to find a balance between the cheapest price on offer and that which you are prepared to pay for a balanced and reliable service.