An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the industry term for the company that is able to provide you with access to the Internet, typically from a computer. If you hear someone talking about the Internet and they mention their “provider,” they’re usually talking about their ISP.

Your ISP makes the Internet a possibility. In other words, you can have a shiny computer with a built-in modem and could have a router for networking, but without a subscription with an ISP, you won’t have a connection to the Internet.

For the typical homeowner or apartment dweller, the ISP is usually a “cable company” that, in addition, or offering a TV subscription, also offers an Internet subscription. You don’t get both for the price of one, however. You can get just cable TV or just high-speed Internet, or both.