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.