Internet service provider
The Internet (originally ARPAnet) was developed as a network between government research laboratories and participating departments of universities.
[5][6][7] A possible solution to net neutrality concerns may be municipal broadband, according to Professor Susan Crawford, a legal and technology expert at Harvard Law School.
discussion draft bill, that makes concessions to net neutrality but prohibits the FCC from accomplishing the goal or enacting any further regulation affecting Internet service providers.
[14][15] On 31 January 2015, AP News reported that the FCC will present the notion of applying ("with some caveats") Title II (common carrier) of the Communications Act of 1934 to the Internet in a vote expected on 26 February 2015.
[16][17][18][19][20] Adoption of this notion would reclassify Internet service from one of information to one of the telecommunications[21] and, according to Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, ensure net neutrality.
[35] Upon becoming FCC chairman in April 2017, Ajit Pai proposed an end to net neutrality, awaiting votes from the commission.
[36][37] On 21 November 2017, Pai announced that a vote will be held by FCC members on 14 December 2017 on whether to repeal the policy.
[42] Available technologies have ranged from computer modems with acoustic couplers to telephone lines, to television cable (CATV), Wi-Fi, and fiber optics.
For users and small businesses, traditional options include copper wires to provide dial-up, DSL, typically asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), cable modem or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) (typically basic rate interface).
The definition given in RFC 6650 covers email hosting services, as well as the relevant department of companies, universities, organizations, groups, and individuals that manage their mail servers themselves.
[60] In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP and is used to transmit data to or from areas of the Internet beyond the home network; this mode of interconnection is often cascaded multiple times until reaching a tier 1 carrier.
[63] Border Gateway Protocol is used by routers to connect to other networks, which are identified by their autonomous system number.
[66][67][68] For transmissions in a metro area such as a city[69] and for large customers such as data centers,[70] special pluggable modules in routers, conforming to standards such as CFP,[71][72] QSFP-DD, OSFP,[73] 400ZR or OpenZR+ may be used alongside DWDM[74] and many vendors have proprietary offerings.
VISPs resemble mobile virtual network operators and competitive local exchange carriers for voice communications.
[88] How the difference in competition levels has potentially negatively affected the innovation and development of infrastructure in specific rural areas remains a question.
The exploration and answers developed to the question could provide guidance for possible interventions and solutions meant to remedy the digital divide between rural and urban connectivity.
[95][96][97] Internet service providers in many countries are legally required (e.g., via Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in the U.S.) to allow law enforcement agencies to monitor some or all of the information transmitted by the ISP, or even store the browsing history of users to allow government access if needed (e.g. via the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 in the United Kingdom).
In the U.S., a controversial National Security Agency program known as PRISM provides for broad monitoring of Internet users traffic and has raised concerns about potential violation of the privacy protections in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
