A Look at Modems

One of the most common methods for connecting to a TCP/IP network such as the Internet is through a phone line. Telephone access is now an everyday feature of home and traveling computers. Dial-up access is also an option on many office networks, where dial-up service can offer inexpensive Internet access or provide a link for a worker who travels or has an office at home. In most cases this dial-up access is accomplished using a modem.

A modem provides network access through a phone line. The term is short for MOdulate/DEModulate. Engineers created modems because the industry saw the enormous benefit of providing a way for computers to communicate over the world's most accessible transmission medium: the global telephone system. ...

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