ISS 2016 Statistics Paper-1 Solution: Question 75 (Routers, ISPs and OSPs)
We're continuing our question-by-question walk through the ISS Statistics Paper-1 previous year papers, and today's stop is the 2016 paper's Question 75 — a short general-awareness question tucked into the computer applications portion of the exam. It looks like a two-second "general knowledge" item at first glance, but there's a neat bit of reasoning hiding in it that's worth slowing down for.
Quick Summary
Topic:Computer networking fundamentals — routers, ISPs and OSPs
Question Reference:ISS 2016, Statistics Paper-1, Question 75
Correct Answer:Option (d) — 1, 2 and 3
The Question, As Asked
Consider the following statements:
Routers are special purpose computers which interconnect networks.
ISPs are dedicated, special service providers.
OSPs are operating service providers.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Step 1: Break the Question into Three Independent Claims
This is not a calculation question — it's a verification question. You're being given three separate factual statements, and you have to decide, one at a time, whether each one is true. Only after you've judged all three individually should you go back to the options and see which combination matches your judgement. Students often make the mistake of reading the options first and guessing; instead, treat each numbered statement as its own small true/false quiz.
Step 2: Evaluate Statement 1 — Routers
A router is a networking device whose entire job is to receive data packets from one network, decide the best path for them, and forward them onto another network. Inside, a router runs on its own processor, memory and a stripped-down operating system — which is exactly why it's correctly called a "special purpose computer." Its single purpose, interconnecting otherwise separate networks (for example, your home network and your ISP's network, or two different office LANs), is precisely what the statement describes.
So Statement 1 is correct.
Step 3: Evaluate Statement 2 — ISPs
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider — a company whose dedicated business is to give individuals and organisations access to the internet, usually in exchange for a subscription fee. "Dedicated, special service provider" is just a formal way of saying: this is a company that specialises in exactly one kind of service (internet access) and exists to provide it. There's nothing in the statement that stretches the definition.
So Statement 2 is correct.
Step 4: Evaluate Statement 3 — OSPs
This is the statement that trips most students up, because "OSP" is far less commonly discussed than "ISP." An Online Service Provider (OSP) is a company that offers services over the internet beyond plain connectivity — things like proprietary content, email, chat, or other online services bundled together (early examples from the dial-up era, like AOL, are the classic textbook illustration). The paper's phrasing — "operating service providers" — is a looser, simplified description of the same idea rather than a separate, incorrect definition: an OSP is, functionally, an organisation set up to operate and provide a bundle of online services to its users.
So Statement 3 is correct.
Pro Tip: Whenever a "which statements are correct" question gives you four options and none of them is "only two of the three, in a combination you've concluded is right," stop and recheck your reasoning before finalising an answer. Here, if you had judged Statement 3 to be false, you'd be left needing a "1 and 2 only" option — and it simply isn't on the list. That absence is itself a clue the exam setter intended all three statements to be read as true. This is a habit worth drilling until it's automatic: before locking in an answer, check that your conclusion actually has a matching option, the way it's usually taught in a structured problem-solving routine — it catches silent misreadings before they cost you a mark.
Step 5: Match Your Findings to the Options
We've now independently judged all three statements as correct:
Statement 1 — correct
Statement 2 — correct
Statement 3 — correct
Scanning the four options, only option (d), "1, 2 and 3," includes all three. That makes option (d) the correct answer.
Step 6: Confirm Against the Official Answer Key
The official ISS 2016 Statistics Paper-1 answer key (Test Booklet Series A) lists the answer to Question 75 as D, which matches our independently derived answer of option (d), 1, 2 and 3, exactly. No discrepancy here — our step-by-step reasoning and the official key are in full agreement.
Why This Question Matters
Questions like this one are easy to dismiss as "just general knowledge," but they're a regular, scoring-friendly part of the ISS Statistics Paper-1 pattern, and they reward a very specific skill: careful, statement-by-statement verification rather than quick pattern matching. In an exam with negative marking, a candidate who rushes through three short lines and guesses based on "feel" is taking on real risk for no reason, when a methodical thirty-second read would have settled it cleanly. Building the discipline to check every statement on its own merits — and to sanity-check your conclusion against the options offered — pays off across the entire paper, not just on networking questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this type of question common in ISS Statistics Paper-1?
Yes. Paper-1 regularly includes a handful of general computer-awareness and networking questions alongside the core probability and statistics content, and Question 75 of the 2016 paper is a typical example. These questions are usually short, definitional, and don't require calculation, which makes them some of the fastest marks available if you know the basics.
What's the practical difference between an ISP and an OSP?
An ISP's core job is providing the actual connection to the internet — the "pipe." An OSP typically rides on top of that connection, offering content or services (email, chat, proprietary portals) to users who are already online, whether or not the OSP is also the one providing connectivity. In modern usage the line between the two has blurred, since many ISPs now also bundle OSP-style services.
Why is Statement 1 considered "correct" when routers are also just hardware devices?
Because a router genuinely is a computer in the technical sense — it has a processor, memory, and runs its own operating system/firmware to make forwarding decisions. "Special purpose" simply distinguishes it from a general-purpose computer (like a laptop) that can run arbitrary applications; a router is built and optimised for exactly one job: moving packets between networks.
How should I approach "which of the above is/are correct" questions under time pressure?
Judge each numbered statement independently first, marking it true or false in the margin, before even looking at the lettered options. Only then match your true/false pattern to the options. This avoids the common trap of anchoring on one option that "sounds right" and rationalising the statements to fit it.
Does negative marking change how I should attempt this kind of question?
It should make you more deliberate, not more hesitant. If you can confidently verify at least two of the three statements, you can often eliminate enough options to make an educated attempt worthwhile, since ISS applies a flat one-third penalty for a wrong answer regardless of how close you were. A fully reasoned attempt, like the one above, removes the guesswork entirely.
Where can I find more solved questions from this same paper?
This post is part of an ongoing, question-by-question solution series covering the ISS Statistics Paper-1 previous year papers in full; earlier questions from the 2016 paper, including the preceding networking and computer-fundamentals questions, are available as separate posts in the same series.
If anything in this explanation is unclear, or you'd solve Statement 3 differently, drop your reasoning in the comments below — and if you know a fellow ISS aspirant working through the same previous year papers, feel free to share this with them too.
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