Modem vs. Router what’s the Difference?

ByMat Murdock

Modem vs. Router:

Your modem is a box that connects your home network to the wider Internet. let’s know more about Modem vs. Router. A router may be a box that lets all of your wired and wireless devices use that Internet connection directly and also allows them to speak to at least one another without having to do so over the Internet. Often, your Internet service provider will give you one box that serves as both modem and router, but they’re still different technologies; not all modems include routers and not all routers have modems. You need both, integrated or not, to provide an Internet connection for all the devices in your home.

We recommend using a separate modem and router if you can. Since modem technology changes slowly, you’ll usually use a modem for years, until it breaks, but you would possibly get to replace a router because you would like better coverage because you’ve added more devices to your network and your old router isn’t keeping up, or because you want to take advantage of the latest improvements in Wi-Fi technology. You can often economize on your monthly Internet bill if you purchase your own modem and router rather than using those your ISP provides, though this is often usually true as long as you’ve got cable Internet, not DSL or fiber, and therefore the situation is more complicated if you get telephone company from your ISP also.

Modems

A modem modulates and demodulates electrical signals sent through phone lines, coaxial cables, or other sorts of wiring; in other words, it transforms digital information from your computer into analog signals that can transmit over wires, and it can translate incoming analog signals back into digital data that your computer can understand. Most stand-alone modems have just two ports: one that connects to the surface world, and an Ethernet jack that connects to a computer or a router.

If you employ cable Internet service, your ISP probably gave you a modem when the corporate found out about your service. But it didn’t do that out of the goodness of its heart—if you check out your bill, you’ll presumably discover that you’re paying an additional monthly fee (typically around $10) for the privilege.

That’s one reason why we recommend that cable Internet users buy their own modems.1 Good one like the Netgear CM500 costs around $60; the modem can pay for itself after six months and last for years, even if you change cable providers.

If you employ DSL or fiber Internet (like Verizon’s Fios service), your choices are more limited. Your ISP probably provides you a modem or a modem/router combo, and should not allow you to bring your own modem albeit you’ll find one to shop for in the first place. In many cases, you’ll close up the router features of a mixture modem/router and use it as a stand-alone modem so you’ll add your own router, but the process for doing so (and whether that’s supported at all) differs depending on your service provider and the type of Internet connection you have.