How does an ISP Connect you to the internet?
I recently took a course on Networking and I’m wondering I thoroughly understand most of what happens between the ISP and my Computer. What I don’t understand is what the ISP does on the other end. That is to say, what, specifically, does the ISP do that grants you access to the interent. Moreover, if one had the financial means, how would one go about starting an ISP?
While these questions are only for the sake of knowledge, please treat them with respect. Don’t answer unless you have something of value.
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Most likely, you’d start your ISP service by contracting with an "upstream" ISP to obtain a means of connecting your customers with the internet. You can get a good overview of how this all works at Wikipedia. Suggest you begin by reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_backbone and then start clicking links.