- Network service provider
-
A network service provider (NSP) is a business or organization that sells bandwidth or network access by providing direct backbone access to the Internet and usually access to its network access points (NAPs)[citation needed]. For such a reason, network service providers are sometimes referred to as backbone providers or internet providers.
Network service providers may consist of telecommunications companies, data carriers, wireless communications providers, Internet service providers, and cable television operators offering high-speed Internet access.
Gartner listed the world's top NSPs in 2004 as:-
- AT&T: based in the USA
- Verizon: based in the USA
- BT: based in the UK
- NTT Communications Corp: based in Japan
- SingTel: based in Singapore
Within the United States, major network service providers include AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and Level 3 Communications.
A few information technology companies are also emerging into the NSP market, notably IBM, EDS, CSC, Vanco and Atos Origin. This is due to the convergence of information technology and communications technology into one Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
See also
This computer networking article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
