ISO standard cup of tea
= I =
ITS
ISP /I-S-P/
Common abbreviation for Internet Service
Provider, a kind of company that barely existed before 1993. ISPs
sell Internet access to the mass market. While the big nationwide
commercial BBSs with Internet access (like America Online,
CompuServe, GEnie, Netcom, etc.) are technically ISPs, the term is
usually reserved for local or regional small providers (often run
by hackers turned entrepreneurs) who resell Internet access cheaply
without themselves being information providers or selling
advertising. Compare NSP.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.