Point of Presence

A point of presence (PoP) is an artificial demarcation point or interface point between communicating entities.

In the US, this term became important during the court-ordered breakup of the Bell Telephone system. A point of presence was a location where a long-distance carrier (IXC) could terminate services and provide connections into a local telephone network (LATA).

An Internet point of presence typically houses servers, routers, network switches, multiplexers, and other network interface equipment. It is typically located in a data center. ISPs typically have multiple PoPs. PoPs are often located at Internet exchange points and colocation centres.