Differences Between Wireless Router And Modem - Computers - Hardware

As the use of computer and Internet has gone up significantly these days, more and more computer users are becoming keen to know the differences between the wireless routers and modem. Not only that, for making a transition from an Ethernet based wired network to a wireless network, it is important to know how they work and what is the process to setup them. In this article we will discuss the similarities and key differences between wireless router and modem.

Similarities

Be it a Router or a modem both of these are networking devices, which are a must to get Internet access. Those who are new to the domain of computer and Internet, they get confused between wireless routers and modems. For network setup or to install Wi-Fi, you may get help from an expert. A wireless cable modem integrates a wireless router and cable modem into a single device. A wireless cable modem performs all the functions of a cable modem and wireless router.

Differences in Features

Modems could be of various types and various modems are used for transferring of data packets. You may know that to modulate and demodulate data over a copper phone line, an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) modem is used. Nowadays modems come with an integrated router. To avail faster download speed, it is recommended to opt for a high speed modem. Remember, without a wireless router, you can connect to the Internet, but not without a modem. Wireless routers transmit data more than two frequencies and offer speeds of more than 450 Mbps over the wireless network.

Differences in Functions

Before talking about differences, one thing should be noted that roles of these devices are different and due to this reason they are not directly comparable. Lets take a look at the key differences in functionality. 'Modem,' an acronym for 'Modulator-Demodulator' is an electronic device that does the job of conversion. It converts digital signals to analog as well as analog signals back to digital.

In case of a cable based Internet connection or a phone line based connection, the data packets are transmitted over a cable in analog form. But it needs to be converted to digital format; otherwise the computer can not process them. And the modem does this conversion job. The modem establishes the link with the Internet service provider (ISP). In addition, the modem also handles the data transfer to and fro, from the ISP server.

On the other hand, a wireless router facilitates the integration of multiple computer networks. It provides Internet access to the PC terminals, through a radio link. A wireless router is connected with various computer terminals and it is also connected to the Internet source to provide wireless Internet access.

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