Editing Network service provider (section)

{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}{{Short description|Proposed role in the Internet economy}}
'''Network Service Provider''' ('''NSP''') is one of the roles defined in the [[National Information Infrastructure]] (NII) plan, which governed the transition of the Internet from US federal control to private-sector governance, with an accompanying shift from the 1968-1992 single-payer economy to a competitive market economy. The plan envisioned Network Service Providers as a wholesale layer, moving [[Bandwidth (computing)|Internet bandwidth]] produced at [[Network Access Point]]s (subsequently called "[[Internet exchange point]]s") to [[Internet Service Provider]]s, who would in turn sell it to end-user enterprises, or on to Internet Access Providers (IAPs) who would sell it to individual end-users in their homes. In fact, the original Network Service Providers quickly vertically integrated with Internet Service Providers and Internet Access Providers, through the mid-1990s, creating conglomerates and reducing competition.<ref>[https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27327/network-service-provider-nsp Network Service Provider (NSP)]</ref>

Now, the term may refer to [[telecommunications]] companies, data carriers, wireless communications providers, [[Internet service provider]]s, and [[cable television]] operators offering Internet access.