Internet Service Provider (ISP)

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is your gateway to the internet. They provide the connection you use to contact other computers on the internet for web browsing, e-mail, chats, internet games, and instant messaging. Common commercial ISPs include:

• AOL (Dial-up)
• Roadrunner (Cable)
• Verizon (DSL)
• Bellsouth (DSL)
• Sprint (DSL)
• Earthlink (Dial-up/DSL)
• Comcast (Cable)
• SBC (Cable/DSL)
• Cox (Cable)

Pomona has an academic-level connection that will most likely be significantly faster than anything you have at home. However, with great power comes great responsibility: make sure not to exceed the daily internet transfer maximums.

ISPs offer two kinds of service: dial-up and broadband. Dial-up connections use your phone lines and are usually undependable and very slow. Broadband connections come in multiple flavors, the most common of which are the following three.

• Cable - A very fast, "always on" connection that connects through your TV cable. Cable connections are usually shared throughout an entire neighborhood, so speeds vary depending on how many people are using the connection.
• DSL - Another very fast, "always on" connection that transfers data over your phone lines without interfering with your use of the phone. DSL is much more stable than dial-up, and doesn't require you to have cable TV.
• Satellite - Slower than other broadband connections and susceptible to weather, satellite's advantage lies in that it can reach where other broadband connections cannot, e.g. the mountains, rural areas, etc.