I just recently found out that routers connect you to the internet, but then I found out that ISPs also connect you do the internet. Can someone explain to me what really happens behind the scenes? Why do we need ISPs if our routers can connect to the internet by themselves?
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It’s very similar (conceptually) to how the landline phone system works… You have a phone in your house, it’s connected to a local exchange, that’s connected to a regional exchange and that’s connected to an international exchange. Depending on where you’re calling, you’re phone will be connected along different paths.
If you switch perspective to that international exchange the system can be viewed as a bunch of trees (like a family tree) branching out from that central point.
Your router, is like a landline phone, connected to your ISP, which is a local provider, and they’re connected to another provider (usually referred to as a backbone providers). If your router wasn’t connected to your ISP, your computer’s could talk to eachother, but couldn’t talk outside your home, and if your ISP wasn’t connected to a backbone provider (as sometimes happens) you’d be able to connect to some sites (like your ISPs own website) but not all sites, depending on where exactly the break is – similar to how an international exchange problem might stop you calling the UK, but you could still call Canada or Mexico
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