"An ISP, or internet service provider, is a company that provides its customers access to the internet and other web services. In addition to maintaining a direct line to the internet, the company usually maintains web servers. By supplying necessary software, a password-protected user account, and a phone number to dial into the internet connection, ISPs offer their customers the capability to browse the web and exchange email with other people. Some ISPs also offer additional services. ISPs can vary in size—some are operated by one individual, while others are large corporations. They may also vary in scope—some only support users in a particular city, while others have regional or national capabilities.

"Almost all ISPs offer email and web browsing capabilities. They also offer varying degrees of user support, usually in the form of an email address or customer support hotline. Most ISPs also offer web hosting capabilities, allowing users to create and maintain personal web pages; and some may even offer the service of developing the pages for you. Many ISPs offer the option of high-speed access through DSL or cable modems, while others may just rely on dial-up connections. As part of normal operation, most ISPs perform backups of email and web files. If the ability to recover email and web files is important to you, check with your ISP to see if they back up the data; it might not be advertised as a service. Additionally, some ISPs may implement firewalls to block some incoming traffic, although you should consider this a supplement to your own security precautions, not a replacement." - US CERT

ISP Related Issues

• communications facilities | Computer Inquiries
• Funding Opportunities
  • Erate
• Content
  • Requirement to provide notification to subscribers of commercially available parental control protections pursuant to COPA
  • Liability for third party content (liable and slander)
  • Obligation to report known child pornography
  • DMCA ISP Agent Registration for Notice and Take Down
  • Electronic Communications Privacy Act
  • Stored Communications Act
  • Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
  • ISP Rights under Can Spam Act
  • Accessibility for individuals with disabilities
  • Privacy
    • Ability to read subscribers or hackers email or communications
    • Websites designed for or visited by children
• Taxes
  • Access Charges, telecommunications
  • Moratorium condition on notification of commercially available parental controls
  • Moratorium for commercial websites that engages in the business of selling material that is harmful to minors conditioned on such sites utilizing the defenses similar to those articulated in COPA (i.e., use of credit cards and so on).

Federal Activity

• Telecom & ISP Advocacy Groups Petition FCC, isp planet 6/2/03
• Small Business Admin: Selecting Your ISP

Links

• Boardwatch Directory of ISPs The List (Directory of ISPs)
• ISP World (trade journal)
• The World (First Commercial ISP established in 1989)
• Taxes and Other Charges on Your Telephone Bill (FCC Factsheet: PDF Format)
• Internal Revenue Service
• Repeal The Tax on Talking.org
• Shane Greenstein homepage

Papers

• Shane Greenstein,
  • Universal Access and Local Commercial Internet Markets, co-authored with Tom Downes.Do Commercial ISPs Provide Universal Access? co-authored with Tom Downes.
  • Maps:  click here for fall 1996,[black and white] here for spring, 1997,[black and white] here for fall, 1997, [black and white] here for spring, 1998.[black and white] here for fall, 1998. [black and white]
• Geoff Huston, The Uncommon Carrier IP Journal 11/5/02
• The Inet-Access Frequently Asked Questions List , Amazing.com (1998) (discussing business operations at the time of ISPs)

Statistics

• See also Broadband and Dial Up Subscribers
• ISP Rankings By Subscriber Total - Comcast poised to be king, AOL totals still dwindling... , dslreports 12/5/2008
• Top ISPs, Q2 - Dial-up migration continues, slows..., DSLreports 9/14/2007
• Top ISPs By Subscriber - Comcast gets bigger, AOL gets smaller, Broadband Reports 4/18/2007
• Top 22 US ISPs by Subscribers: Q3 2006, ISP Planet 
• Top ISPs by Subscriber Count - AOL, though bleeding, still leads with 18.6 million, Broadband Reports 6/16/2006
• Top 24 US ISPs by Subscriber: Q3 2005, ISP Planet Dec. 2005
• Top Internet Broadband Providers in the US, Leichtman Research Group, p. 6 (Sept 2005)
• Top 22 US ISPs by Subscriber: Q2 2005, ISP Planet June 9, 2005
• Vermont ISP Share of Customers

Percent of residential customers		Percent of nonresidential customers
AOL	22.9	SoVerNet	14.4
SoVerNet	11.8	Adelphia Cable	12.8
Adelphia Cable	11.5	AOL	11.5
Earthlink	8.4	Earthlink	8.8
United Online	5.0	Verizon	6.2
Power Shift Online	4.2	VTel Internet	4.6
VTel Internet	4.2	Green Mountain Access	4.3
Verizon	3.8	Vermont Link.Net	3.3
Green Mountain Access	3.8	Global.net	2.6
AT&T	2.3	Lightship	2.6
Global.net	2.3	Charter	2.3
Innevi	1.9	Power Shift Online	2.3
MSN	1.9	Valley Net	2.3
Kingdom Connection	1.5	Kingdom Connection	1.6
Charter	1.1	ABS/Telcove	1.6
GovNet	0.8	United Online	1.6

Vermont Telecommunications Plan, Sept 2004 p. 2-26

• StatMarket: AOL still the world's favorite ISP March 14 2002
• US Census: Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals, and Data Processing Services: 2002 (Nov. 2004)
  • Online Service Providers 2002: 4394 (Table 2)
  • Online Service Providers 1997: 4165
• 98. Internet Service Providers: Under the new NAICS codes, SBA has developed a small business size standard for "On-line Information Services," NAICS Code 514191.   According to SBA regulations, a small business under this category is one having annual receipts of $18 million or less.  According to SBA's most recent data, there are a total of 2,829 firms with annual receipts of $9,999,999 or less, and an additional 111 firms with annual receipts of $10,000,000 or more.   Thus, the number of On-line Information Services firms that are small under the SBA's $18 million size standard is between 2,829 and 2,940.  Further, some of these Internet Service Providers (ISPs) might not be independently owned and operated. Consequently, we estimate that there are fewer than 2,940 small entity ISPs that may be affected by the decisions and rules of the present action. -- In Re Appropriate Framework for Broadband Access to the Internet over Wireline Facilities, CC Docket No. 02-33, CC Dockets Nos. 95-20, 98-10, NPRM ¶ 98 (February 15, 2002) (based on 1997 census data)
• AOL subscriptions swell in U.S., CNews 11/27/01
• Top ISPs Report, NWFusion 11/23/01
• Top U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q3 2001, ISP Planet11/02/01 (note that in August, ISP-Planet reported that the top 20 ISPs account for 90% of the market where ISP-Planet is in November saying that the top 20 ISPs only account for 60% of the market).
• Top U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q2 2001, ISP Planet 8/17/01

Internet Trade Associations

Books

• ISP Liability Survival Guide: Strategies for Managing Copyright, Spam, Cache, and Privacy Regulations by Timothy D. Casey 2000

News & Blogs

• FISPA and WISPA Boards Meet in Nashville, WISPA 6/30/2009
• ISPCON No More - ISPs note the passing of industry mainstay, dslreports 2/26/2009
• Is Billing By the Byte Inevitable? - ISPs keep hinting that it's necessary..., DSLreports 6/15/2007
• ISPs dial up profit as users go broadband, Globe and Mail 12/19/2006
• So Long Dial-UP, Internet Week 6/3/2005
• Gigabyte Virtual March on Washington DC, Muni 12/3/2004
• SOFTWARE BEEFS UP DIAL-UP USING TRICKS, Mercury 3/15/2004
• Top U.S. ISPs By Subscriber: Q3 2003, isp planet 1/5/2004
• Death Of Dialup Greatly Exaggerated, isp planet 11/7/2003
• The Death of Dial-Up, Ecomm Times 9/2/03
• ISP group pushing to stay connected, CNET 4/30/03
• Shortchanged, Forbes 4/30/03
• USA Interactive to snap up Expedia, CNET 3/19/03
• Fast Forward ISP Directory Update, Wash Post 2/4/03
• As Broadband Gains, the Internet's Snails Fall Back, NYT 2/4/03
• ISPs fight for users, USA Today 2/4/03
• Rural ISPs Still Fear The ILEC, ISP Planet 12/20/02
• Are Indie ISPs Finished?, Ecomm Times 12/4/02
• Mom-and-pop ISPs Still Thrive MSNBC 10/21/02
• New ISP On The Block: IVillage atNY 10/18/02
• Canadian ISP Study: This study, (PDF), commissioned by the Canadian Ministry of Industry, provides an overview of the health and stability of the Canadian ISP sector. The report was completed in March 2002., NANOG 7/1/02
• ISPs Organize Against FCC, Internet News 6/20/02
• Internet Providers Team Up to Lobby FCC, Wash Post 6/20/02
• The changing tide of ISP liability, CNET 6/20/02
• ISPs Organize Against FCC, Internet News 6/20/02
• Internet Providers Team Up to Lobby FCC, Wash Post 6/20/02
• The changing tide of ISP liability, CNET 6/20/02
• A WISP Association Is Born, 80211 5/1/02
• EU touts flat fee for Net access, CNET 11/28/01
• Price war could kill small ISPs, CNEWS 11/27/01
• AOL subscriptions swell in U.S., CNews 11/27/01
• Top ISPs Report, NWFusion 11/23/01
• Top U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q3 2001, ISP Planet11/02/01 (note that in August, ISP-Planet reported that the top 20 ISPs account for 90% of the market where ISP-Planet is in November saying that the top 20 ISPs only account for 60% of the market).
• Top U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q2 2001, ISP Planet 8/17/01
• ISPs Face Tough Broadband Competition - Study, Newsbytes 8/15/01
• What Does the Future Hold for Pure-Play ISPs?, INews 8/15/01Choosing a V.92-Compatible Remote Access Server, ISP Planet 12/18/01Is dial-up in danger?, NWFusion 7/30/01Dial-Up Remains ISPs Bread And Butter, Cyberatlas 4/19/01ISPs: Defying Difficult Times, InternetNews 4/11/01Dial-Up Access Getting Faster, Wash Post 2/23/01The dial-up modem ain't dead yet, ZDNet 2/23/01China cutting phone rates to spur Internet growth Dec 28 nandotimesCalifornia Net Surfers May Face Higher ISP Fees Dec 22 newsbytesCalif. ISP phone rates uncertain Dec 22 usatodayNew Device Could Speed Up Phones, Internet Yahoo 4/7MCI WorldCom, AOL widen dial-up pact C|NET 4/7
• Light and moderate users of Net might stick with dial-up modems Dallas News 3/31