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What is an ISP and What Do They Do For Me?
Many people ask me this question. What does an Internet Service Provider (ISP) do for me?
An ISP provides your computer with a connection to the Internet via their computer. Their computer is a big powerful computer that is connected directly to the
Internet all the time. It may be helpful to think of the Internet as a bunch of pipes connecting computers all over the world. The bigger the pipe the more information (articles, E-mail, pictures, music, movies, etc.) can flow through the pipe. Your ISP has a huge pipe connected to their computer.
So, when you connect to the Internet, either by dialing into it via the phone lines, Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), satellites or cable TV, you are contacting your ISPs "server" computer. The type of connection you have to your ISP (the size of your pipe) determines how fast of a connection you have or how much information you can get in a certain amount of time. A phone line is the slowest connection available (the smallest pipe). DSL and satellite connections are faster (a medium pipe) and cable TV connections are even faster (a big pipe). If the
Internet seems slows at times, think of what a flood does to pipes. Too much information flowing through the same pipes causes backups or "floods". To test your
Internet connection speed click
Speed Test.
Once you connect to your ISP computer it then assigns your computer a
number that uniquely identifies your computer for that session on the
Internet such as: 216.254.118.156. An analogy would be that this number
is similar to my phone number. While I'm paying for it, its mine. If I
quit paying for it, the company sells - or rents - it to someone else.
Fortunately, most of us don't get a new phone number everyday! Its also
fortunate that we don't need a consistent Internet number to identify
our computers, just a unique one. While most of us will never need to
know our Internet number, more advanced users will need to know.
So there you have it. Your ISP provides you with a unique connection to the
Internet. That's what you pay them for, you're renting their huge pipe in order to get a flow of information through your little pipe into your computer.
Most ISPs also rent you an E-mail address and personal web site space.
Have you ever wondered where your ISP's computer is physically located? Click Locate My ISP's Computer to find out.
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