A cable modem is a conversion device that facilitates connecting to a cable television network which provides Internet access. Cable modems are widely used to access the Internet in several countries such as the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica and Europe.
The cable modem utilizes a coaxial cable since it has a higher data carrying capacity. The cable modem detects and converts the data, which is eventually sent to your computer. Cable modems allow you to access both cable television and the Internet at high speed using the same cable. The greatest advantage of the cable modem is that you do not have to restrict yourself to the telephone network for accessing the Internet. In addition, it also facilitates access to the Internet at speeds equivalent to a broadband Internet connection.
Three types of cable modems are used which include internal, external and an interactive set-top box. The internal cable modem is integrated with the motherboard of your computer, while the external cable modem and the set-top box are placed outside the computer.
Most cable modems today operate using the hybrid system architecture. The user’s computer can be connected remotely into hybrid networks using highly asymmetrical communications. This allows users to connect to a high-speed data communications network seamlessly. LANcity, a pioneer in cable modems, developed a proprietary system that was widely deployed in countries like the United States.
With the development of Voice-over-Internet Protocol or VoIP telephony, cable modems became capable of providing a telephone service. VoIP finds greater usage among cable modem users who can talk to one another at relatively lower costs. With support from third party service providers such as Vonage and Skype, a cable modem subscriber can use the VoIP telephony service. For better quality VoIP telephony, cable modem users take advantage of two IP addresses available from most Internet service providers. With this kind of setup, users can access the Internet under one IP address while the VoIP gateway uses a separate IP address. This is beneficial to many VoIP users as it creates a network where the Internet traffic does not affect the call quality.
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