Virtual ISP

A Virtual ISP (vISP) re-sells to the general public Internet access purchased from a wholesale ISP. The vISP's role is to provide any services beyond Internet connectivity, such as e-mail, web hosting, and technical support. The vISP must perform all authentication and accounting functions necessary to provide access and then bill their users for it. This model allows for larger ISPs to increase returns on their investment into what is generally a geographically large, high capacity network, a network which smaller ISPs, as customers of the larger ISP, can use to serve customers in locations that would previously have been unavailable to them.