You're happily browsing the internet until something happens and your laptop says: " Surprise! You are no longer online! ” And you say: ” Oh! Something must be wrong with the modem or router or something! “
But for that sweet WiFi to flow unobstructed into and throughout your home, both your modem and router must be working. Sometimes they can be combined in one box, but even then, they are still two different technologies working inside a single box. Here is the difference between them:
What is a modem?
The modem is the device that brings the internet to your home, sending and receiving data. You rent a modem from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), but you can also save a little money and buy your own. If you look at your internet bill, you may find that you are paying a fee every month to rent your modem, where normally you can buy one for less than a year's rent.
A modem is a box with two ports – one hole that connects it to the Internet and another that connects it to a computer or router. The function of a modem is to modulate and demodulate electrical signals – it takes digital signals from your computer and turns them into analog signals that can travel through a wire or telephone line and vice versa.
What is a router?
A router is a separate machine that collects modem information and allows it to be accessed by several different devices. So if you only have one modem, you can connect it to your laptop and the internet can only be accessed by that computer. But if you have a router, you can create a “home network,” with the router acting as a distributor of the internet signal to different parts of your home, as well as a translator so that your wireless devices can read the modem signals. The router also acts as a traffic cop, preventing internet signal congestion – it's much better at this when there are fewer devices working on a single router.
The size of router you need largely depends on the size of your home or business. If your space is very large, you can purchase a router with several small satellite routers that can help the signal spread throughout your home.
Now this is interesting
The correct name for “WiFi” is actually IEEE 802.11. “WiFi” was a product name created to commercialize the technology in 1999 – it doesn’t mean anything.
