If you’ve ever wondered about the difference between a modem and a router, you’re not alone. While some people think they’re the same thing, they actually have separate roles on a network. A modem is what brings the internet into your home or business, establishing and maintaining a dedicated connection to your internet service provider. It demodulates incoming analog signals from the internet into a digital signal, which a computer can understand. It also modulates outgoing digital signals from a computer into an analog signal as it goes out on the internet.
A router comes in after the modem and passes your internet connection to all of your devices in your home or business, directing it to all of your computers, tablets, phones, and more so that those devices can access the internet. It functions as a wireless access point so that wireless devices such as tablets and laptops can have internet access. A typical small office/home office router will have a built-in switch with multiple ports so that you can connect multiple devices using an Ethernet cable connection.
Technically, you don’t need a router if you only want one of your devices to access the internet. You can just plug that device’s network cable directly into the modem and then access the internet. However, like most homes and businesses, you’re going to have multiple devices that need access to the internet, and that’s where you would need a router.
There are different types of modems, with the two most common being cable and DSL modems. Cable modems are connected to your home using a coaxial cable, typically provided by the same company that provides you with cable television. DSL modems are connected using a typical phone line, provided by companies such as AT&T in the US. Depending on what type of internet you’re going to use, you need to use the correct type of modem.
A lot of times, your internet service provider will send you a modem that might be a modem/router combination, a modem with a built-in wireless router in one physical device. Most routers will have a built-in switch inside of them, so there’s no need to have a switch if you already have a router that has a switch built into it.
To sum it up, a modem brings the internet into your home or business, while a router passes your internet connection to all of your devices in your home or business. There are different types of modems, and you need to use the correct type depending on what type of internet you’re going to use. Most routers have a built-in switch inside of them, so there’s no need to have a switch if you already have a router that has a switch built into it.