WISP is an abbreviation for wireless internet service provider and what it does is exactly that, provides access to the internet without wires. This article is going to tell you about the history of WISP and its place in today's society as well as its advantages over other kinds of internet service providers.

The way people can connect to the WISP is by having a dish attached to the roof of their building, not unlike that used to transmit satellite television and radio towards the nearest WISP antennae. The WISP itself is normally attached to the highest point possible within the area, which will allow as many people as possible access, such structures that are used are tall buildings and water towers.

The first WISP in the whole world, went into action in 1992 and was created by a man called Brett Glass. It was called LIRIAT who beforehand used WaveLAN equipment which was made by the NRC Corporation. The NRC Corporation used a 900MHz unlicensed radio band to operate on.

In 1996 Telco the South African name for Telkom was unable to keep up with the demand businesses were putting on them for dedicated internet links. They were one of the first to use the WISP for such purposes, and this was when WISP was used for the purpose of wireless barcode scanning.

Being able to do this made them realize that if they were to put a Telco link on the top of the tallest building within a high business area they would then be able to have many people using the one link without having to wire them all up separately, while still giving them the same access.

Although this in theory was a great idea, in practice the technology was not advanced enough to be able to allow internet access without leaving the businesses supplied vulnerable in terms of security. This was one of the things that contributed to the folding of the firm in 1999.

Since then technology has come a long way and has meant that WISP internet access has become more commonplace, not only in the home but also among businesses and has meant that providers of such access have been able to meet the demands asked of them, therefore generating a better financial turn over.

By May 2008 there were 879 WISPS that were Wi-Fi based within the Czech republic. With this many points the Czech republic was the country with the most WISPS within the whole EU.

If you think of the technology and how it could be used this will mean that if put into action people in the developing countries would still be able to have communication with the rest of the world via the internet. This would bridge a lot of gaps when it comes to technology in communication.

In areas that do not have the access, such as less developed countries and those that do not have the cable and digital lines the WISPS are a way in which the residents and businesses can have the access they require.