An ISP, or Internet Service Provider, is the company that connects you to the internet. Whether you’re browsing at home, streaming on your phone, or working from a coffee shop, an ISP is what makes that connection possible. Common examples include Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

When you sign up for internet services, your ISP assigns you a public IP address. This is the address that identifies your connection on the wider internet, allowing websites and services to know where to send data back to you. Your ISP manages a pool of these addresses and allocates them to customers as needed.

ISPs also play a role in how your data moves. All internet traffic from your home or device routes through your ISP’s infrastructure before reaching its destination. This means your ISP can see which sites you visit, and in some cases, may log or throttle that activity depending on your plan and local regulations. Using a VPN can help limit what your ISP is able to observe about your browsing.