People in today’s world tend to use the internet in order to get most of their work done. If you are one of them, you must be using some specific hardware devices. That’s where people get confused in between gateways and modems.
As you already know, a modem is a device that can help you to get connected to the internet. But is it the same as a gateway? It’s high time to figure out the difference. Once you are aware about the difference, you will be able to use the right device for your purposes.
What is a modem?
Modem is a hardware device that enables computers to send and receive data through a telephone line or a cable or through a satellite connection. When it comes to sending and receiving data through a telephone line, in the earlier days, modems converted the analog signals into digital in real time to offer an efficient two-way network communication. In the present, modems are released from the responsibility of converting analog signal into digital as the modems which are available today are high speed digital modems. And signals too are simpler. So conversion is not needed.
There are many types of modems available today. Dial up modems and broadband models are some of the most popular types among those modems. Dial up modems are typical and traditional modems which is using the dial-up networks and when the data is transmitted through dial-up modems, the signals are converted from analog to digital. Broadband modems are the new version of modems and they use more advanced data transferring techniques where the analog to digital conversion is not needed. So basically this is what happening inside a modem.
What is a gateway?
Gateway is a device that combines two networks so that the devices which are connected to one network can communicate with the devices which are connected to the other network. This combination is done by connecting two different protocols together. Gateway is the proper term for a DSL, FiOS, or cable modem because the data transferring remains in the digital mode from the customer’s network to the ISP and internet. The combination of the functionalities of router and a modem is similar to the mechanism happen in a gateway. Usually gateways are integrated with firewalls and proxy services since they appear in the edge of a network.
Comparison
So from the above mentioned factors you should get an idea about what a gateway and a modem are. Since the digital data is not converted to an analog data which is a major functionality of a modem, technically gateway is not a modem. But there are some types of gateways that perform same as the modem. Hence the DSL/cable gateways is referred to as modems by some people and the 2 terms are interchangeable. So we can conclude that the gateways acts same as the modems in some aspects.
With the development of the technology now there are wireless gateway modems which are one of the latest versions of modems. Wireless gateways possess a combination of the functions of a wireless access point, a router and provide firewall functions too. There are two kinds of wireless gateways; a simpler one and a complex one. The simpler one should connect to a DSL modem or a cable modem to connect to the internet through an ISP. The complex one comes with a modem integrated with it, so it will not be needing any other device to connect to the internet.
So it should be obvious that gateways and modems have some similarities and dissimilarities as well. But all these are very familiar to each other and the factors mentioned above implies that at some points gateways are the modems and modems are the gateways. In the future we will be able to experience lot more regarding this subject because when it comes to the technology, there are no limits.
