Online service provider

Type of service provider

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article may lack focus or may be about more than one topic. Please help improve this article, possibly by splitting the article or organising a disambiguation page. There might be further discussion about this on the talk page. (January 2012)

|

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Online service provider" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2006) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

An online service provider (OSP) can, for example, be an Internet service provider, an email provider, a news provider (press), an entertainment provider (music, movies), a search engine, an e-commerce site, an online banking site, a health site, an official government site, social media, a wiki, or a Usenet newsgroup.[clarification needed]

In its original more limited definition, it referred only to a commercial computer communication service in which paid members could dial via a computer modem the service's private computer network and access various services and information resources such as bulletin board systems, downloadable files and programs, news articles, chat rooms, and electronic mail services. The term "online service" was also used in references to these dial-up services. The traditional dial-up online service differed from the modern Internet service provider in that they provided a large degree of content that was only accessible by those who subscribed to the online service, while ISP mostly serves to provide access to the Internet and generally provides little if any exclusive content of its own.

In the U.S., the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) portion of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act has expanded the legal definition of online service in two different ways for different portions of the law. It states in section 512(k)(1):

> (A) As used in subsection (a), the term "service provider" means an entity offering the transmission, routing, or providing of connections for digital online communications, between or among points specified by a user, of material of the user's choosing, without modification to the content of the material as sent or received.
>  (B) As used in this section, other than subsection (a), the term "service provider" means a provider of online services or network access, or the operator of facilities therefore, and includes an entity described in subparagraph (A).[1]

These broad definitions make it possible for numerous web businesses to benefit from the OCILLA.

## History

[edit]

The first commercial online services went live in 1979. CompuServe (owned in the 1980s and 1990s by H&R Block) and The Source (for a time owned by The Reader's Digest) are considered the first major online services created to serve the market of personal computer users. Utilizing text-based interfaces and menus, these services allowed anyone with a modem and communications software to use email, chat, news, financial and stock information, bulletin boards, special interest groups (SIGs), forums and general information. Subscribers could exchange email only with other subscribers of the same service. (For a time a service called DASnet carried mail among several online services, and CompuServe, MCI Mail, and other services experimented with X.400 protocols to exchange email until the Internet rendered these outmoded.)

Other text-based online services followed such as Delphi, GEnie and MCI Mail. The 1980s also saw the rise of independent Computer Bulletin Boards, or BBSes. (Online services are not BBSes. An online service may contain an electronic bulletin board, but the term "BBS" is reserved for independent dialup, microcomputer-based services that are usually single-user systems.)

The commercial services used pre-existing packet-switched (X.25) data communications networks, or the services' own networks (as with CompuServe). In either case, users dialed into local access points and were connected to remote computer centers where information and services were located. As with telephone service, subscribers paid by the minute, with separate day-time and evening/weekend rates.

As the use of computers that supported color and graphics, such the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, Apple II, and early IBM PC compatibles, increased, online services gradually developed framed or partially graphical information displays. Early services such as CompuServe added increasingly sophisticated graphics-based front end software to present their information, though they continued to offer text-based access for those who needed or preferred it. In 1985 Viewtron, which began as a Videotex service requiring a dedicated terminal, introduced software allowing home computer owners access. Beginning in the mid-1980s graphics based online services such as PlayNET, Prodigy, and Quantum Link (aka Q-Link) were developed. Quantum Link, which was based on Commodore-only Playnet software, later developed AppleLink Personal Edition, PC-Link (based on Tandy's DeskMate), and Promenade (for IBM), all of which (including Q-Link) were later combined as America Online.

These online services presaged the web browser that would change global online life 10 years later. Before Quantum Link, Apple computer had developed its own service, called AppleLink, which was mostly a support network targeted at Apple dealers and developers. Later, Apple offered the short-lived eWorld, targeted at Mac consumers and based on the Mac version of the America Online software.

Beginning in 1992, the Internet, which had previously been limited to government, academic, and corporate research settings, was opened to commercial entities. The first online service to offer Internet access was DELPHI, which had developed TCP/IP access much earlier, in connection with an environmental group that rated Internet access.[citation needed]

The explosion of popularity of the World Wide Web in 1994 accelerated the development of the Internet as an information and communication resource for consumers and businesses. The sudden availability of low- to no-cost email and appearance of free independent web sites broke the business model that had supported the rise of the early online service industry.

CompuServe, BIX, AOL, DELPHI, and Prodigy gradually added access to Internet e-mail, Usenet newsgroups, ftp, and to web sites. At the same time, they moved from usage-based billing to monthly subscriptions. Similarly, companies that paid to have AOL host their information or early online stores began to develop their own web sites, putting further stress on the economics of the online industry. Only the largest services like AOL (which later acquired CompuServe, just as CompuServe acquired The Source) were able to make the transition to the Internet-centric world.

A new class of online service provider arose to provide access to the Internet, the internet service provider or ISP. Internet-only service providers like UUNET, The Pipeline, Panix, Netcom, the World, EarthLink, and MindSpring provided no content of their own, concentrating their efforts on making it easy for nontechnical users to install the various software required to "get online" before consumer operating systems came internet-enabled out of the box. In contrast to the online services' multitiered per-minute or per-hour rates, many ISPs offered flat-fee, unlimited access plans. Independent companies sprang up to offer access and packages to compete with the big networks (eg, the-wire.com,[2] 1994 in Toronto and bway.net[3] 1995 in New York). These providers first offered access through telephone and modem, just as did the early online services providers. By the early 2000s, these independent ISPs had largely been supplanted by high speed and broadband access through cable and phone companies, as well as wireless access.

The importance of the online services industry was vital in "paving the road" for the information superhighway. When Mosaic and Netscape were released in 1994, they had a ready audience of more than 10 million people who were able to download their first web browser through an online service. Though ISPs quickly began offering software packages with setup to their customers, this brief period gave many users their first online experience.

Two online services in particular, Prodigy and AOL, are often confused with the Internet, or the origins of the Internet. Prodigy's Chief Technical Officer said in 1999: "Eleven years ago, the Internet was just an intangible dream that Prodigy brought to life. Now it is a force to be reckoned with." Despite that statement, neither service provided the back bone for the Internet, nor did either start the Internet.

## Online service interfaces

[edit]

The first online service used a simple text-based interface in which content was largely text only and users made choices via a command prompt. This allowed just about any computer with a modem and terminal communications program the ability to access these text-based online services. CompuServe would later offer, with the advent of the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows-based PCs, a GUI interface program for their service. This provided a very rudimentary GUI interface. CompuServe continued to offer text-only access for those needing it. Online services like Prodigy and AOL developed their online service around a GUI and thus unlike CompuServe's early GUI-based software, these online services provided a more robust GUI interface. Early GUI-based online service interfaces offered little in the way of detailed graphics such as photographs or pictures. Largely they were limited to simple icons and buttons and text. As modem speed increased it became more feasible to offer images and other more complicated graphics to users thus providing a nicer look to their services

## Common resources provided by online services

[edit]

Some of the resources and services online services have provided access to include message boards, chat services, electronic mail, file archives, current news and weather, online encyclopedias, airline reservations, and online games. Major online service providers like Compuserve also served as a way for software and hardware manufacturers to provide online support for their products via forums and file download areas within the online service provider's network. Prior to the advent of the web, such support had to be done either via an online service or a private bulletin board system run by the company and accessed over a direct phone line.

## Responsibility

[edit]

Depending on the jurisdiction there may be rules exempting an OSP from responsibility for content provided by users, but with a ' notice and take down (NTD) obligation to remove unacceptable content as soon as it is noticed.

## See also

[edit]

* Videotex
* Online service provider law
* Terminal emulator
* Category:Pre-World Wide Web online services
* Service provider
* NSFNet
* Shell account
* Connect Business Information Network

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cornell Law School U.S. Code collection US CODE: Title 17, 512. Limitations on liability relating to material online. Accessed 20 December 2006.
2. ^ "About The Wire". the-wire.com. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
3. ^ "About Bway | Bway.net | NYC Internet Provider". Bway.net. Retrieved 2024-10-23.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Online service providers at Wikimedia Commons
* Online services history
* Information on aluminum and glass contracting services for online infrastructure

* v
* t
* e

Telecommunications

History|

* Beacon
* Broadcasting
* Cable protection system
* Cable TV
* Communications satellite
* Computer network
* Data compression
* audio
* DCT
* image
* video
* Digital media
* Internet video
* online video platform
* social media
* streaming
* Drums
* Edholm's law
* Electrical telegraph
* Fax
* Heliographs
* Hydraulic telegraph
* Information Age
* Information revolution
* Internet
* Mass media
* Mobile phone
* Smartphone
* Optical telecommunication
* Optical telegraphy
* Pager
* Photophone
* Prepaid mobile phone
* Radio
* Radiotelephone
* Satellite communications
* Semaphore
* Phryctoria
* Semiconductor
* device
* MOSFET
* transistor
* Smoke signals
* Telecommunications history
* Telautograph
* Telegraphy
* Teleprinter (teletype)
* Telephone
* The Telephone Cases
* Television
* digital
* streaming
* Undersea telegraph line
* Videotelephony
* Whistled language
* Wireless revolution

Pioneers|

* Nasir Ahmed
* Edwin Howard Armstrong
* Mohamed M. Atalla
* John Logie Baird
* Paul Baran
* John Bardeen
* Alexander Graham Bell
* Emile Berliner
* Tim Berners-Lee
* Francis Blake
* Jagadish Chandra Bose
* Charles Bourseul
* Walter Houser Brattain
* Vint Cerf
* Claude Chappe
* Yogen Dalal
* Donald Davies
* Daniel Davis Jr.
* Amos Dolbear
* Thomas Edison
* Philo Farnsworth
* Reginald Fessenden
* Lee de Forest
* Elisha Gray
* Oliver Heaviside
* Robert Hooke
* Erna Schneider Hoover
* Harold Hopkins
* Gardiner Greene Hubbard
* Bob Kahn
* Dawon Kahng
* Charles K. Kao
* Narinder Singh Kapany
* Hedy Lamarr
* Roberto Landell
* Innocenzo Manzetti
* Guglielmo Marconi
* Robert Metcalfe
* Antonio Meucci
* Samuel Morse
* Jun-ichi Nishizawa
* Charles Grafton Page
* Radia Perlman
* Alexander Stepanovich Popov
* Tivadar Puskás
* Johann Philipp Reis
* Claude Shannon
* Almon Brown Strowger
* Henry Sutton
* Charles Sumner Tainter
* Nikola Tesla
* Camille Tissot
* Alfred Vail
* Thomas A. Watson
* Charles Wheatstone
* Vladimir K. Zworykin
* Internet pioneers

Transmission
media|

* Coaxial cable
* Fiber-optic communication
* optical fiber
* Free-space optical communication
* Molecular communication
* Radio waves
* wireless
* Transmission line
* telecommunication circuit

Network topology
and switching|

* Bandwidth
* Links
* Network switching
* circuit
* packet
* Nodes
* terminal
* Telephone exchange

Multiplexing|

* Space-division
* Frequency-division
* Time-division
* Polarization-division
* Orbital angular-momentum
* Code-division

Concepts|

* Communication protocol
* Computer network
* Data transmission
* Store and forward
* Telecommunications equipment

Types of network|

* Cellular network
* Ethernet
* ISDN
* LAN
* Mobile
* NGN
* Public Switched Telephone
* Radio
* Television
* Telex
* UUCP
* WAN
* Wireless network

Notable networks|

* ARPANET
* BITNET
* CYCLADES
* FidoNet
* Internet
* Internet2
* JANET
* NPL network
* TANet
* Toasternet
* Usenet

Locations|

* Africa
* Americas
* North
* South
* Antarctica
* Asia
* Europe
* Oceania
* Global telecommunications regulation bodies

* Telecommunication portal
* Category
* Outline
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Major industries by economic sector

Primary sector or ′Natural sector′ (raw materials)

| Biotic|

| Agriculture|

* Arable farming
* Cereals
* Legumes
* Vegetables
* Fiber crops
* Oilseeds
* Sugar
* Tobacco
* Permanent crops
* Apples et al.
* Berries
* Citrus
* Stone fruits
* Tropical fruit
* Viticulture
* Cocoa
* Coffee
* Tea
* Nuts
* Olives
* Medicinal plants
* Spices
* Horticulture
* Flowers
* Seeds
* Animal husbandry
* Beef cattle
* Dairy farming
* Fur farming
* Horses
* Other livestock
* Pig
* Wool
* Poultry
* Beekeeping
* Cochineal
* Shellac
* Silk
* Hunting
* Fur trapping

|

Forestry|

* Silviculture
* Bamboo
* Logging
* Firewood
* Rattan
* Tree tapping
* Frankincense
* Gum arabic
* Gutta-percha
* Maple syrup
* Mastic
* Natural rubber
* Palm sugar, syrup, & wine
* Pine resin
* Wild mushrooms
* Fungiculture
* Truffles

Aquatic|

* Fishing
* Anchovies
* Herring
* Sardines
* Cod
* Haddock
* Pollock
* Mackerel
* Shark
* Swordfish
* Tuna
* Crabs
* Lobsters
* Sea urchins
* Squid
* Whaling
* Aquaculture
* Carp
* Catfish
* Tilapia
* Abalone
* Mussels
* Oysters
* Pearls
* Microalgae
* Seaweed
* Both
* Clams
* Sea cucumbers
* Scallops
* Salmon
* Shrimp

Geological|

* Fossil fuels
* Coal
* Peat
* Natural gas
* Oil shale
* Petroleum
* Tar sands
* Mining of ores
* Aluminum
* Copper
* Iron
* Gold
* Silver
* Palladium
* Platinum
* Lithium
* Rare-earth metals
* Uranium
* Other minerals
* Gemstones
* Phosphorus
* Potash
* Salt
* Sulfur
* Quarrying
* Gravel
* Sand
* Chalk
* Clay
* Gypsum
* Limestone
* Dimension stone
* Granite
* Marble

Secondary sector or ′Industrial sector′ (goods manufacturing)

| Manufacturing|

| Light industry|

* Food
* Animal feed
* Baking
* Canning
* Dairy products
* Flour
* Meat
* Prepared
* Preserved
* Sweets
* Vegetable oils
* Beverages
* Beer
* Bottled water
* Liquor
* Soft drinks
* Wine
* Textiles
* Carding
* Dyeing
* Prints
* Spinning
* Weaving
* Carpets
* Lace
* Linens
* Rope
* Clothing
* Accessories
* Dressmaking
* Furs
* Hatmaking
* Sewing
* Shoemaking
* Tailoring
* Printing
* Bookbinding
* Embossing
* Engraving
* Secure
* Typesetting
* Media reproduction
* Cassette tapes
* Phonographs
* Optical discs
* Metal fabrication
* Boilermaking
* Builders' & household hardware
* Cutlery
* Gunsmithing
* Locksmithing
* Machining
* Other smithing
* Powder metallurgy
* Prefabrication
* Surface finishing
* Other fabrication
* 3D printing
* Blow molding
* Drawing
* Extrusion
* Glassblowing
* Injection moulding
* Pottery
* Sintering
* Stonemasonry
* Woodworking
* Furniture
* Other goods
* Baggage
* Bicycles
* Jewellery
* Medical supplies
* Musical instruments
* Office supplies
* Outdoors & sports equipment
* Personal protective equipment
* Toys

|

Electrical
& optical|

* Electronics
* Components
* Circuit boards
* Semiconductors
* Computers
* Computer systems
* Parts & peripherals
* Blank storage media
* Communications equipment
* Mobile phones
* Network infrastructure
* Consumer electronics
* Televisions
* Video game consoles
* Instrumentation
* Clocks and watches
* GPS devices
* Scientific instruments
* Medical imaging systems
* Optical instruments
* Cameras
* Gun & spotting scopes
* Laser construction
* Lens grinding
* Microscopes
* Telescopes
* Electrical equipment
* Batteries
* Electrical & fiber optic cables
* Electric lighting
* Electric motors
* Home appliances
* Transformers

Chemicals|

* Coal & oil refining
* Bitumen
* Coke
* Diesel fuel
* Fuel oil
* Gasoline
* Jet fuel
* Kerosene
* Mineral oil
* Paraffin wax
* Petrochemicals
* Petroleum jelly
* Propane
* Synthetic oil
* Tar
* Commodity chemicals
* Fertilizers
* Industrial gases
* Pigments
* Pure elements
* Speciality chemicals
* Adhesives
* Agrochemicals
* Aroma compounds
* Cleaning products
* Cosmetics
* Explosives
* Fireworks
* Paints & inks
* Perfumes
* Soap
* Toiletries
* Fine chemicals
* Pharmaceuticals
* Antibiotics
* Blood products
* Chemical & hormonal contraceptives
* Generic drugs
* Illegal drugs
* Supplements
* Vaccines

Materials|

* Leather
* Liming & deliming
* Tanning
* Currying & oiling
* Wood
* Drying
* Sawmilling
* Engineered
* Lumber
* Composite
* Paper
* Sizing
* Cardboard
* Pulp
* Tissue
* Rubber
* Tires
* Vulcanized rubber
* Plastics
* Commodity
* Engineered
* Specialty
* Pellets
* Synthetic fibers
* Thermoplastics & thermosets
* Glass
* Borosilicate
* Fused quartz
* Soda-lime
* Float glass
* Glass fiber
* Glass wool & fiberglass
* Safety glass
* Ceramics
* Brick
* Earthenware
* Porcelain
* Refractory
* Tile
* Cement
* Mortar
* Plaster
* Ready-mix concrete
* Other mineral
* Abrasives
* Carbon fibers & advanced materials
* Mineral wool
* Synthetic gems
* Metal refining
* Iron
* Aluminum
* Copper
* Alloys
* Steel
* Formed metal
* Rolled
* Forged
* Cast metal

Heavy industry|

* Machinery
* Conveyors
* Heavy
* Hydraulic
* Machine tools
* Power & wind turbines
* Automobiles
* Other heavy vehicles
* Aerospace & space
* Rail vehicles
* Ships & offshore platforms
* Weapons

Utilities|

* Power
* Electric
* Gas distribution
* Renewable
* Water
* Sewage
* Waste management
* Collection
* Dumping
* Hazardous
* Recycling
* Remediation
* Telecom networks
* Cable TV
* Internet
* Mobile
* Satellite
* Telephone

Construction|

* Buildings
* Commercial
* Industrial
* Residential
* Civil engineering
* Bridges
* Railways
* Roads
* Tunnels
* Canals
* Dams
* Dredging
* Harbors
* Specialty trades
* Cabinetry
* Demolition
* Electrical wiring
* Elevators
* HVAC
* Painting and decorating
* Plumbing
* Site preparation

Tertiary sector or ′Service sector′ (services)

| Sales|

* Retail
* Car dealership
* Consumer goods
* General store
* Grocery store
* Department store
* Mail order
* Online shopping
* Specialty store
* Wholesale
* Auction
* Brokerage
* Distribution

|

Transport
& Storage|

* Cargo
* Air cargo
* Intermodal
* Mail
* Moving company
* Rail
* Trucking
* Passenger transport
* Airlines
* Car rentals
* Passenger rail
* Ridesharing
* Taxis
* Warehousing
* Self storage

Hospitality|

* Foodservice
* Drink service
* Cafés
* Catering
* Fast food
* Food delivery
* Restaurants
* Teahouses
* Hotels

Asset management|

* Financial services
* Banking
* Credit
* Financial advice
* Holding company
* Money transfer
* Payment cards
* Risk management
* Securities
* Insurance
* Health
* Life
* Pension funding
* Property
* Reinsurance
* Real estate
* Brokerage
* Property management

Professional|

* Accounting
* Assurance
* Audit
* Bookkeeping
* Tax advice
* Architecture & engineering
* Inspection
* Surveying
* Physical, product, & system testing
* Design
* Fashion
* Interior
* Product
* Legal services
* Management
* Consulting
* Public relations
* Marketing
* Advertising
* Creative
* Language
* Research and development
* Basic research

Healthcare|

* Medicine
* Dentist offices
* Hospitals
* Nursing
* Residential care
* Veterinary medicine

Entertainment
& leisure|

* Audio-visual
* Film
* Music
* Video games
* Broadcasting
* News
* Radio
* Television
* Sport
* Travel
* Business travel
* Cruise lines
* Tourism
* Gambling
* Online
* Venues
* Arcades
* Amusement parks
* Fairgrounds
* Nightclubs
* Tabletop games

Publishing
& Mass media|

* Written
* Books
* Periodicals
* Software
* Internet
* Hosting
* Social networks
* Streaming
* Websites

Education|

* Primary
* Secondary
* Tertiary
* Vocational school
* University
* Testing
* Tutoring

Other|

* Administrative
* Customer service
* Leasing
* Renting
* Staffing
* Private investigation & security
* Maintenance
* Janitors
* Landscaping
* Repairs
* Personal services
* Beauty
* Dry cleaning
* Funeral
* Maid service
* Pet care
* Sex
* Poverty

Related

| Classification
standards|

* Production-based
* ANZSIC
* ISIC
* NACE
* NAICS
* SIC
* UKSIC
* Market-based
* GICS
* ICB
* TRBC
* Other
* Aftermarket
* Generic
* OEM

|

Inputs
& outputs|

* Externalities
* Community
* Crime
* Culture
* Pollution
* Well-being
* Funding
* Goods
* Commodities
* Final
* Intermediate
* Raw material
* Innovation
* Primary inputs
* Labor
* Natural resources
* Physical capital
* Services
* Technology

Organization|

* Centralization
* Cartel
* Conglomerate
* Horizontal integration
* Mergers and acquisitions
* Monopoly
* Monopsony
* Vertical integration
* Decentralization
* Enforced breakup
* Freelancing
* Homesteading
* Outsourcing
* Putting-out system
* Spinning-off
* Temporary work
* Ownership
* Cooperative
* Joint-stock company
* Nationalization
* Nonprofit organization
* Partnership
* Privatization
* Sole proprietorship
* State-owned enterprise

* Category
* Commons
* Outline

Authority control databases

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template