Editing Internet service provider (section)

==Classifications==

===Access providers===
{{anchor|Access ISP'S}} <!-- old section name (renamed 30 November 2011) -->
Access provider ISPs provide Internet access directly to end customers such as businesses and consumers, employing a range of technologies to connect users to their network.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/what-are-the-different-internet-connection-methods|title=What are the different Internet connection methods? |website=Windows |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013060645/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/what-are-the-different-internet-connection-methods|archive-date=October 13, 2009}}</ref> Available technologies have ranged from computer modems with [[acoustic coupler]]s to telephone lines, to television cable (CATV), [[Wi-Fi]], and fiber optics.

For users and small businesses, traditional options include copper wires to provide [[dial-up]], DSL, typically [[asymmetric digital subscriber line]] (ADSL), cable modem or [[Integrated Services Digital Network]] (ISDN) (typically [[basic rate interface]]). Using [[Fiber-optic communication|fiber-optic]]s to end users is called [[Fiber to the x|Fiber To The Home]] or similar names.<ref>{{cite web |title=FTTx: Fiber To The Home/Premises/Curb |url=http://www.thefoa.org/FTTX/ |publisher=[[The Fiber Optic Association]] |access-date=June 1, 2013 |archive-date=August 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824130815/http://www.thefoa.org/FTTX/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Customers with more demanding requirements (such as medium-to-large businesses, or other ISPs) can use higher-speed DSL (such as [[single-pair high-speed digital subscriber line]]), [[Ethernet]], [[metropolitan Ethernet]], [[gigabit Ethernet]], [[Frame Relay]], ISDN [[Primary Rate Interface]], [[Asynchronous Transfer Mode]] (ATM), [[synchronous optical networking]] (SONET)<ref>{{cite web|url= http://ciscoccna24.blogspot.com/2010/10/tdm-examples-isdn-and-sonet.html|title= CCNA|work= ciscoccna24.blogspot.com|access-date= 2 February 2015|archive-date= 25 December 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141225005957/http://ciscoccna24.blogspot.com/2010/10/tdm-examples-isdn-and-sonet.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>  or MPLS over OTN.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://networkworld.com/article/741048/why-does-mpls-cost-so-much-more-than-internet-connectivity.html/amp/ | title=Why does MPLS cost so much more than Internet connectivity? }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04968-2_17 | doi=10.1007/978-3-642-04968-2_17 | chapter=A Network Optimization Model for Multi-layer IP/MPLS over OTN/DWDM Networks | title=IP Operations and Management | series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science | date=2009 | last1=Katib | first1=Iyad | last2=Medhi | first2=Deep | volume=5843 | pages=180–185 | isbn=978-3-642-04967-5 }}</ref> Dedicated internet access (DIA) services for businesses can be delivered using PON networks.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2025/05/its-technology-claims-first-live-uk-biz-customer-trial-of-50gbps-pon.html | title=ITS Technology Claims First Live UK Biz Customer Trial of 50Gbps PON }}</ref>

[[Wireless broadband|Wireless access]] is another option, including [[cellular network|cellular]] and [[satellite Internet access]]. Access providers may have an MPLS ([[Multiprotocol label switching]]) or formerly a SONET [[backbone network]], and have a ring<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/11/cityfibre-launch-first-800gbps-backbone-ring-to-serve-uk-cities.html|title=CityFibre Launch First 800Gbps Backbone Ring to Serve UK Cities|first=Mark|last=Jackson|date=November 24, 2021|website=ISPreview UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://openaccess.uoc.edu/bitstream/10609/18805/6/amerinoraTFC0113memoria.pdf|title=IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE DOCSIS 3.0 SOBRE REDES HFC|first=Ángel Merino|last=Ramos|publisher=Universitat Oberta de Catalunya}}</ref> or mesh<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/m/en_us/network-intelligence/service-provider/digital-transformation/pdfs/verizon-tdm-to-ip-network-modernization.pdf|title=Network Modernization: A TDM to IP Solution|author=Sterling Perrin}}</ref> network topology in their core network.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z5f4BQAAQBAJ&dq=mpls+backbone&pg=PA184 | isbn=978-0-13-396586-5 | title=Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE) Foundation Learning Guide: (CCNP ROUTE 300-101) | date=29 December 2014 | publisher=Cisco Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=VNF Availability and SFC Sizing Model for Service Provider Networks  | doi=10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3005287 | date=2020 | last1=Sharma | first1=Sidharth | last2=Engelmann | first2=Anna | last3=Jukan | first3=Admela | last4=Gumaste | first4=Ashwin | journal=IEEE Access | volume=8 | pages=119768–119784 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2020IEEEA...8k9768S }}</ref> The networks run by access providers can be considered [[wide area networks]].<ref name="ciscopress.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=2832405&seqNum=5 | title=Selecting a WAN Technology (1.2) > WAN Concepts &#124; Cisco Press }}</ref> ISPs can have [[access network]]s, aggregation networks/aggregation layers/distribution layers/edge routers/metro networks and a [[core network]]/backbone network; each subsequent network handles more traffic than the last.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6702549 | title=2013 IEEE SDN for Future Networks and Services (SDN4FNS) | doi=10.1109/SDN4FNS.2013.6702549 | arxiv=1312.5080 | s2cid=9770534 | chapter=Research Directions in Network Service Chaining | date=2013 | last1=John | first1=Wolfgang | last2=Pentikousis | first2=Konstantinos | last3=Agapiou | first3=George | last4=Jacob | first4=Eduardo | last5=Kind | first5=Mario | last6=Manzalini | first6=Antonio | last7=Risso | first7=Fulvio | last8=Staessens | first8=Dimitri | last9=Steinert | first9=Rebecca | last10=Meirosu | first10=Catalin | pages=1–7 | isbn=978-1-4799-2781-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRhHPINWo2AC&dq=aggregation+network+core+network&pg=PA86 | isbn=978-2-7445-0144-9 | title=Networks: Internet, Telephony, Multimedia : Convergences and Complementarities | date=2002 | publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cse.wustl.edu/~jain/cse570-13/ftp/broadba/index.html|title=Survey of Next-Generation Broadband Aggregation Networks|author=Belinda Chang}}</ref><ref name="Network Design Models">{{cite web | url=https://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=2698000 | title=Network Design Models > "Do I Know This Already?" Quiz &#124; Cisco Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11235-021-00841-7 | doi=10.1007/s11235-021-00841-7 | title=Intra and inter-flow link aggregation in SDN | date=2022 | last1=Junior | first1=Ronaldo R. R. | last2=Vieira | first2=Marcos A. M. | last3=Vieira | first3=Luiz F. M. | last4=Loureiro | first4=Antonio A. F. | journal=Telecommunication Systems | volume=79 | pages=95–107 | s2cid=239542317 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> Mobile service providers also have similar networks.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://opg.optica.org/jocn/abstract.cfm?uri=jocn-9-9-D19 | doi=10.1364/JOCN.9.000D19 | title=Matheuristic with Machine-Learning-Based Prediction for Software-Defined Mobile Metro-Core Networks | date=2017 | last1=Alvizu | first1=Rodolfo | last2=Troia | first2=Sebastian | last3=Maier | first3=Guido | last4=Pattavina | first4=Achille | journal=[[Journal of Optical Communications and Networking]] | volume=9 | issue=9 | pages=D19 | hdl=11311/1046162 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> These providers often buy capacity on submarine cables to connect to internet exchanges and engage in private peering with other carriers and networks including Tier 1 carriers at data centers, for example by connecting to the [[NAP of the Americas]], a data center which connects many Latin American ISPs with networks in the US.<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/networking/equinix-expands-miami-data-center-that-s-key-to-latin-american-connectivity | title=Equinix Expands Miami Data Center Key to Latin American Connectivity }}</ref>

===Mailbox providers===
A [[mailbox provider]] is an organization that provides services for hosting electronic mail domains with access to storage for mail boxes. It provides [[Message transfer agent|email servers]] to send, receive, accept, and store email for [[End-user (computer science)#End user|end users]] or other organizations.

Many mailbox providers are also access providers,<ref>{{cite IETF |title=Complaint Feedback Loop Operational Recommendations |rfc=6449 |editor= J.D. Falk |date=November 2011 |publisher=[[IETF]] |access-date= 28 June 2012}}</ref> but some are not (e.g., [[Gmail]], [[Yahoo! Mail]], [[Outlook.com]], [[AOL Mail]], [[Po box]]). The definition given in RFC 6650 covers [[email hosting service]]s, as well as the relevant department of companies, universities, organizations, groups, and individuals that manage their mail servers themselves. The task is typically accomplished by implementing [[Simple Mail Transfer Protocol]] (SMTP) and possibly providing access to messages through [[Internet Message Access Protocol]] (IMAP), the [[Post Office Protocol]], [[Webmail]], or a proprietary protocol.<ref>{{cite IETF |title= Creation and Use of Email Feedback Reports: An Applicability Statement for the Abuse Reporting Format (ARF) |rfc= 6650 |editor= [[Murray Kucherawy]] |date=June 2012 |publisher= [[IETF]] |access-date= 28 June 2012 |quote= "Mailbox Provider" refers to an organization that accepts, stores, and offers access to RFC 5322 messages ("email messages") for end users. Such an organization has typically implemented SMTP RFC 5321 and might provide access to messages through IMAP RFC 3501, the Post Office Protocol (POP) RFC 1939, a proprietary interface designed for HTTP RFC 7230, or a proprietary protocol.}}</ref>

===Hosting ISPs===
[[Internet hosting service]]s provide email, web-hosting, or online storage services. Other services include [[Virtual private server|virtual server]], cloud services, or physical server operation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Foros|first1=Øystein|last2=Hansen|first2=Bjørn|date=2001-12-01|title=Competition and compatibility among Internet Service Providers|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167624501000440|journal=Information Economics and Policy|language=en|volume=13|issue=4|pages=411–425|doi=10.1016/S0167-6245(01)00044-0|issn=0167-6245|hdl=11250/162960|s2cid=24402565 |hdl-access=free|access-date=2020-12-06|archive-date=2020-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623080157/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167624501000440|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=May 2021}}

===Transit ISPs===
[[File:Internet Connectivity Distribution & Core.svg|thumb|upright=2.0|Tiers 1 and 2 ISP interconnections]]
Just as their customers pay them for Internet access, ISPs themselves pay upstream ISPs for Internet access. An upstream ISP such as a tier 2 or tier 1 ISP usually has a larger network than the contracting ISP or is able to provide the contracting ISP with access to parts of the Internet the contracting ISP by itself has no access to.<ref name="ssrn">[http://ssrn.com/abstract=2128103 Gerson & Ryan A Primer on Internet Exchange Points for Policymakers and Non-Engineers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405083326/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2128103 |date=2020-04-05 }} Working Paper, August 11, 2012</ref>

In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP and is used to transmit data to or from areas of the Internet beyond the home network; this mode of interconnection is often cascaded multiple times until reaching a [[tier 1 carrier]]. In reality, the situation is often more complex. ISPs with more than one [[point of presence]] (PoP)<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5DJJXoLPDQC&dq=tier+1+mesh&pg=PA283 | title=Networked Life: 20 Questions and Answers | isbn=978-1-107-02494-6 | last1=Chiang | first1=Mung | date=10 September 2012 | publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5OCcBAAAQBAJ&dq=tier+1+point+of+presence&pg=PA360 | title=Network Routing: Algorithms, Protocols, and Architectures | isbn=978-0-12-800829-4 | last1=Medhi | first1=Deep | last2=Ramasamy | first2=Karthik | date=6 September 2017 | publisher=Morgan Kaufmann }}</ref> may have separate connections to an upstream ISP at multiple PoPs, or they may be customers of multiple upstream ISPs and may have connections to each one of them at one or more point of presence.<ref name="ssrn" /> Transit ISPs provide large amounts of [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] for connecting hosting ISPs and access ISPs.<ref>[http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk365/technologies_configuration_example09186a008009456d.shtml#intro cisco.com Sample Configuration for BGP with Two Different Service Providers (Multihoming)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119045246/http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk365/technologies_configuration_example09186a008009456d.shtml#intro |date=2014-01-19 }} BGP article</ref>

[[Border Gateway Protocol]] is used by routers to connect to other networks, which are identified by their [[Autonomous system (Internet)|autonomous system]] number.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5OCcBAAAQBAJ&dq=internet+exchange+point+tier+1&pg=PA351 | title=Network Routing: Algorithms, Protocols, and Architectures | isbn=978-0-12-800829-4 | last1=Medhi | first1=Deep | last2=Ramasamy | first2=Karthik | date=6 September 2017 | publisher=Morgan Kaufmann }}</ref> [[Tier 2 network|Tier 2 ISPs]] depend on Tier 1 ISPs and often have their own networks, but must pay for transit or internet access to Tier 1 ISPs, but may peer or send transit without paying, to other Tier 2 and/or some Tier 1 ISPs. Tier 3 ISPs do not engage in peering and only purchase transit from Tier 2 and Tier 1 ISPs, and often specialize in offering internet service to end customers such as businesses and individuals. Some organizations act as their own ISPs and purchase transit directly from a Tier 1 ISP.<ref name="Springer">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MgDQDwAAQBAJ&dq=tier+1+peering&pg=PA88 | title=Internet Computing: Principles of Distributed Systems and Emerging Internet-Based Technologies | isbn=978-3-030-34957-8 | last1=Sunyaev | first1=Ali | date=12 February 2020 | publisher=Springer }}</ref> Transit ISPs may use OTN ([[Optical transport network]]) or SDH/SONET (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy/Synchronous Optical Networking)<ref name="ciscopress.com"/> with a DWDM ([[Dense wavelength-division multiplexing]]) system<ref>https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/de_at/assets/docs/dwdm.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=May 2025}}</ref> for transmitting data through optical fiber over long distances such as across a city or between cities.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1M_46OltXAC&dq=dwdm+otn&pg=PA49 | isbn=978-0-387-24063-3 | title=Optical Networking Standards: A Comprehensive Guide for Professionals | date=13 April 2007 | publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO9RWurSS0IC&dq=dwdm+otn&pg=PA93 | isbn=978-1-58053-708-7 | title=Telecommunications Technology Handbook | date=2003 | publisher=Artech House }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EisDEAAAQBAJ&dq=dwdm+otn&pg=PA409 | isbn=978-3-030-16250-4 | title=Springer Handbook of Optical Networks | date=15 October 2020 | publisher=Springer }}</ref> For transmissions in a metro area such as a city<ref>{{cite web|url=https://peering-forum.eu/2022/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/05/P4-400G-ZR...-Florian-Hibler.pdf |date=2022 |publisher=Arista |via=Peering Forum |title=400G-ZR(+) Real World Examples|author=Florian Hibler}}</ref> and for large customers such as data centers,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pc.nanog.org/static/published/meetings/NANOG75/1954/20190220_Martin_Building_The_400G_v1.pdf |publisher=Arista  |via=NANOG |title=400G and 800G Ethernet and Optics|author=Andreas Bechtolsheim|author-link=Andreas Bechtolsheim}}</ref> special pluggable modules in routers, conforming to standards such as [[C form-factor pluggable|CFP]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dmrOBQAAQBAJ&dq=cfp2+module&pg=PA147 | title=High-Speed Devices and Circuits with THZ Applications | isbn=978-1-4665-9012-0 | last1=Choi | first1=Jung Han | date=19 September 2017 | publisher=CRC Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QHa7DwAAQBAJ&dq=cfp2+module&pg=PA42 | title=Coherent Optics for Access Networks | isbn=978-1-000-73650-2 | last1=Jia | first1=Zhensheng | last2=Campos | first2=Luis Alberto | date=28 October 2019 | publisher=CRC Press }}</ref> QSFP-DD, OSFP,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lacnic.net/innovaportal/file/3635/1/christian-urricariet-y-andre-guimaraes.pdf |title=Trends in 400G Optics for the Data Center |author1=Christian Urricariet |author2=André Guimarães |date=May 2019}}</ref> 400ZR or OpenZR+ may be used alongside DWDM<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oiforum.com/wp-content/uploads/OIF-400ZR-01.0_reduced2.pdf|title=Implementation Agreement 400ZR|id=OIF-400ZR-01.0|publisher=Optical Internetworking Forum|date=March 10, 2020}}</ref> and many vendors have proprietary offerings.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lightwaveonline.com/optical-tech/transmission/article/14184990/openzr-msa-group-releases-first-specification | title=OpenZR+ MSA Group releases first specification | date=8 October 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lightwaveonline.com/optical-tech/transmission/article/14188934/understanding-400zr-openzr-400zr-optics | title=Understanding 400ZR/OpenZR+/400ZR+ Optics | date=11 December 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYEqEAAAQBAJ&dq=400zr+dwdm&pg=PA164 | isbn=978-0-12-823134-0 | title=Optical Communications in the 5G Era | date=23 October 2021 | publisher=Academic Press }}</ref> Long-haul networks transport data across longer distances than metro networks, such as through [[Submarine communications cable|submarine cable]]s,<ref name="ciscopress.com"/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PJbEAAAQBAJ&dq=long+haul+network&pg=PA371 | isbn=978-0-19-883422-9 | title=Optical Networks | date=2021 | publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> or connecting several metropolitan networks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/de_at/assets/docs/dwdm.pdf|title=Introduction to DWDM Technology|publisher=Cisco}}</ref> Optical line systems and packet optical transport systems<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lightwaveonline.com/network-design/packet-transport/article/16665596/packet-optical-transport-systems-platforms-for-metro-transformation | title=Packet-optical transport systems: Platforms for metro transformation | date=May 2012 }}</ref> can also be used for data transmission in metro areas, long haul connections and data center interconnect.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6vRQRKrMsAC&dq=optical+line+system&pg=PA335 | isbn=978-0-08-051318-8 | title=Optical Fiber Telecommunications IV-A: Components | date=22 May 2002 | publisher=Elsevier }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FZaUPj3yYr4C&dq=optical+line+system+transmission&pg=PA296 | isbn=978-0-12-395172-4 | title=Optical Fiber Telecommunications IV | date=2002 | publisher=Academic Press }}</ref> Ultra long haul transmission transports data over distances of over 1500 kilometers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lightwaveonline.com/optical-tech/transport/article/16647297/the-search-for-ultra-long-haul-transmission | title=The search for ultra-long-haul transmission | date=May 2001 }}</ref> ISPs connect to each other and to customers via [[data center]]s hosting meet-me rooms.<ref name="auto"/>

===Virtual ISPs===
A [[virtual ISP]] (VISP) is an operation that purchases services from another ISP, sometimes called a ''wholesale ISP'' in this context,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cgi.amazing.com/isp/hooking-up.html |website=Amazing.com |title=Hooking up to the Internet |access-date=2008-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219110040/http://cgi.amazing.com/isp/hooking-up.html |archive-date=2008-12-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which allow the VISP's customers to access the Internet using services and infrastructure owned and operated by the wholesale ISP. VISPs resemble [[mobile virtual network operator]]s and [[competitive local exchange carrier]]s for voice communications.

===Free ISPs ===
Free ISPs are Internet service providers that provide service free of charge. Many free ISPs display advertisements while the user is connected; like commercial [[television]], in a sense they are selling the user's attention to the advertiser. Other free ISPs, sometimes called [[Wireless community network|freenets]], are run on a nonprofit basis, usually with volunteer staff.<ref name=":0" />

===Wireless ISP===
A [[wireless Internet service provider]] (WISP) is an Internet service provider with a network based on wireless networking. Technology may include commonplace Wi-Fi wireless mesh networking, or proprietary equipment designed to operate over open 900&nbsp;MHz, 2.4&nbsp;GHz, 4.9, 5.2, 5.4, 5.7, and 5.8&nbsp;GHz bands or licensed frequencies such as 2.5&nbsp;GHz (EBS/BRS), 3.65&nbsp;GHz (NN) and in the UHF band (including the [[MMDS]] frequency band) and [[Local Multipoint Distribution Service|LMDS]].<ref>{{cite web|title=FCC: Wireless Services: 3650-3700 MHz Radio Service|url=http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=3650_3700|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=2008-03-17|archive-date=2019-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405041959/http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=3650_3700|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== ISPs in rural regions ===
It is hypothesized that the vast divide between broadband connection in rural and urban areas is partially caused by a lack of competition between [[Rural internet|ISPs in rural areas]], where there exists a market typically controlled by just one provider.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Snapshot Of Internet Service Provider Competition in the U.S.|url=https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/internet-ISP-competition-across-America|access-date=2021-11-14|website=BroadbandSearch.net|language=en|archive-date=2021-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114183621/https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/internet-ISP-competition-across-America|url-status=live}}</ref> A lack of competition problematically causes subscription rates to rise disproportionately with the quality of service in rural areas, causing broadband connection to be unaffordable for some, even when the infrastructure supports service in a given area.

In contrast, consumers in urban areas typically benefit from lower rates and higher quality of broadband services, not only due to more advanced infrastructure but also the healthy economic competition caused by having several ISPs in a given area.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sallet|first=Jonathan|date=2017-03-15|title=Better together: Broadband deployment and broadband competition|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2017/03/15/better-together-broadband-deployment-and-broadband-competition/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Brookings|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114183619/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2017/03/15/better-together-broadband-deployment-and-broadband-competition/|url-status=live}}</ref> How the difference in competition levels has potentially negatively affected the innovation and development of infrastructure in specific rural areas remains a question. The exploration and answers developed to the question could provide guidance for possible interventions and solutions meant to remedy the digital divide between rural and urban connectivity.

=== Satellite internet services ===
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