Tip #1583 - Modem Flavors
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WorldStart
Q:
What's with all the different modems? I see dial-up, DSL, Cable—what does
it all mean?
A:
Modem is short form for "demodulator/modulator". A modem allows a
computer to send or receive data/information through a connection. It works
by changing the regular analog signal to a digital signal to be used by computers.
Different types of modems exist such as dial-up, cable, DSL, and wireless.
Different Types
of Modems
Here are short explanations
of each type and an estimation of how fast each modem is:
Standard Dial-up —
These modems have the slowest transfer speed (downloads) of all modems. Dial-up
modems are capable of speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second through an Internet
Service Provider connection. Dial-up modems use copper phone lines to connect
with the Internet.
DSL (Digital Subscriber
Line) — DSL is also provided through regular copper lines though it is
not available to everyone, since you have to be close to a telephone switching
office (usually within about 4 miles). DSL speeds can differ depending on the
quality of the connection. Still, download speeds typically will be about 1000
kilobits per second on a good connection.
Cable Modem — A cable
modem runs over cable television lines. The coaxial cable it uses gives you
much more bandwidth than dial-up and therefore gives you extremely fast access
to the World Wide Web. These modems can give you a transmission rate of about
2000 kilobits per second which is about 40 times faster than the top speed of
dial-up! However, speeds may vary depending on the location or other concerns.
Wireless Broadband Internet
— Wireless Internet (Wi-fi) connects using radio frequency signals, rather
than phone lines or cable television lines. Also, you can connect to the internet
within a limited range, which means an equipped laptop can connect to the internet
away from home easily when a "Hotspot"
is available. Wireless Internet is popular in PDAs, cellular phones, and other
portable devices including laptops and notebooks. You will need special equipment
to use Wireless Internet, which is probably around $100 or so. Download speeds
of Wireless Internet can sometimes reach about 1.5 megabits (around 1500
kilobits).
I hope this clears things
up for you.
~Jesse Pimentel
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