What is an Internet service provider?

Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides internet access services, as well as other services related to the Internet, for example hosting or FTP-server.

A provider can be a backbone (primary), that is, one that has a direct connection to one or more of the same providers around the world or to the city (secondary) that leases part of the backbone channel from the primary provider.

Typically, backbone providers sell Internet traffic in large volumes and do not cooperate with individual users.

ISPs can provide a different type of connection to the internet at different speeds.

Broadband access is provided through a cable connection using a twisted pair cable. The speed of such a connection can be up to 100Mbps.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) uses a telephone connection as a communication channel, which has a more significant limitation in the transmission speed (upload and download) - a maximum of 7Mbps.

Fiber optic transmits the signal in a special fiber optic cable using pulses of light. Fiber optic is a fast-growing type of connection. Fiber is often used to deliver internet to neighbouring nodes, where it is then split to individual households that are subscribed to cable internet over optical coaxial cable.
The data transfer rate for fiber-optic networks reaches 1Gbps.

Satellite communication, as it’s clear from the name, uses communication with satellites in near-earth orbit for data transmission. On the one hand, this is the most expensive method of connecting to the internet, but on the other hand it allows you to be on-line anywhere in the world. The speed of such a connection can reach 50Mbps, but it depends very much on weather conditions.