ISP's are companies that provide internet services to both residential customers and businesses. ISP's offer a variety of services such as access to the web, e-mail accounts, web hosting and more. There is a wide range of options of quality and quantity for each of the services, which can accommodate the common residential internet user to larger multi local businesses. It is important customers carefully consider all of the factors such as cost and reliability before choosing an internet service provider. It's important that ISP's accommodate the specific unique needs of the individual customer.

Internet service providers offer the most basic internet access in the form of dial up. This method of internet access connects users to the ISP through a telephone line. The connection is established right from a user's computer which has a built in modem inside, or a separate router and modem could be used. Dial up internet access requires no infrastructure except an established telephone line. Dial up speeds are typically 56 Kbps with common 56k computer modems. Dial up internet access may require some time before signing on to the internet and the ISP may also periodically sign users off to avoid hogging of the internet lines. Dial up internet is also tentative, as it's influenced by external factors such as other wiring and networks. Due to its low cost and slow speed, dial up internet access is ideal for those looking for minimum internet activity and e-mail.

Broadband internet access also known as high speed internet access is the best option for common internet users and businesses, as it offers high speeds for activities such as downloads and uploads of various media consisting of large files such as games, movies music and other documents. The standard minimum speed of broadband is 768 Kbps and can be up to 50 Mbps for residential or small office internet access depending on the service. Even faster internet speeds are available, typically pursued by larger businesses.