LG Wireless Phone

Modem/Router difference?

Ok, so I have had qwest internet for a couple years now and since I am a pretty hardcore gamer and do alot of downloading (not torrents) and streaming video I haven't been all to happy with the service. I live in Minnesota, and Qwest's speeds here cap at about 40 kilobytes a second and cannot go any higher, and Comcast is the only other Highspeed internet provider in my area . One of my friends up the street has comcast and his wireless is even blazing, so we called em up and got a sweet deal for 12 months of $19.95 since we already had their phone and cable service. Now, they are coming in 8 days to install whatever they do and I have read that they provide you with a 'Modem'. I am a little confused on the difference between the two so let me layout my setup: I have ordered a D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme router for when they come to set-up. Throughout my house there are phone jacks which we were utilizing by plugging in the phone chord from them into my current router. Are these the 'modem's, or do we physically have to recieve one and then from that plug in the phone chord and then our router into it? Please clarify the difference for me or how comcast goes about doing this, thanks.

Public Comments

1. A modem is the box that receives the internet from the phone jack or coax cable, and converts the signal to an ethernet connection for use with a high speed machine or computer. A router is the box that takes the ethernet cable FROM the modem, and acts like a hub, which gives you more available ethernet ports, and also usually provides wireless internet. Your D-Link will have one ethernet IN and four ethernet OUT ports. You will need to take one end from the modem's ethernet port and plug it in the D Link ethernet IN port because that's how the D link gets the internet and distributes it to wireless machines and other ethernet compliant devices.
2. Im not familiar with how comcast sets up their cable internet, but ill give you a rundown of how cox does it and the difference between a router and a modem. Im also assuming your going to use cable internet and not the type you call in by phone. The way cox does it is they run a regular coaxial cable to your home (the kind that plugs into your cable box for your tv) and it runs into your cable modem. Your cable modem interprets the signal and then allows you to communicate via a ethernet cord connected from the modem to the comp. And thats basically how your internet works without a router. A router takes one connection and creates multiple possible connections for your home or work needs. The way they layout would work is instead of the ethernet going from the cable modem to your computer, it plugs into the router. You then connect an ethernet cable from the router to the computer. Most routers have multiple ethernet ports so you can connect multiple computers. I believe the router you ordered is also a wireless, so it will transmit a signal that you can connect to, usually via a laptop.
3. Some background first.... Modem and router are actually different things... Modem is a device that changes analog signals (phone signals) to digital signals (signals use by computers.) and vice versa. router are device that redirects digital signals to the correct directions. BUT....modems use at homes these days are usually integrated which means it is both a router and a modem. What was mentioned above are the much more specific types. But the modem that is coming might be just a modem where only one computer can be connected to...(cos u just modem i can't really make it clear which u are talking about.) unlike a integrated one where a few can connected to. i haven read up on the router you got so i cant say if its a integrated one or not.
4. Jd's answer above is correct. I think there's more to your question though, so forgive me if I'm giving you info you don't need already. I don't know about Qwest's service, but it sounds like you have DSL through Qwest. Comcast of course is cable, so when Comcast comes, you will have to decide where you want the modem installed. If you have more than one cable access point in your home, you can decide which access point you want to plug the modem into. Then you can connect your modem to your D-Link by an ethernet cable, and place the D-Link in the best spot in your home for wireless all around. Depending on where the access points are, and depending on the type of router your D-Link is (b/g/n) you can place your modem and the D-Link accordingly.