Internet Service Provider (ISP)

An internet service provider (ISP) is a company that connects its customers to the internet. ISPs range from large telecom firms to small local providers, and they deliver access over fibre-optic lines, cable television networks, telephone lines (DSL), mobile networks or satellites. Many also offer email, web hosting or other services. ISPs route customers' traffic onward to the wider internet, a process that depends on the internet layer of the internet's protocols, and they sell plans by speed or bandwidth. Because all of a customer's traffic passes through them, ISPs can see which sites are visited unless traffic is encrypted, and they may be required by law to block sites or keep records. In crypto, users concerned about privacy sometimes hide node or wallet traffic from their ISP using onion routing, and some countries have ordered ISPs to block access to unlicensed exchanges.