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Internal modems allow computers to communicate on a network. Dial-up and WiFi are the two types. The v.92 protocol is used for copper telephone lines. The first affordable modem was the Hayes Smartmodem in 1981. Modems got faster and became standard equipment, but have given way to DSL, cable, and fiber-optic modems. Dial-up is still considered reliable.
An internal modem is a device installed inside a desktop or laptop computer, which allows the computer to communicate on a network with other connected computers. There are two types of internal modems: dial-up and WiFi® (wireless). The former operates over a telephone line and requires a network access phone number and login credentials to establish a connection. The latter can connect wirelessly and without credentials in some cases. The unqualified term “internal modem” commonly refers to the dial-up modem, as later technologies are used with qualifiers to differentiate them.
A current internal modem, also available as an external device, uses the v.92 protocol to communicate over copper telephone lines. The modem sends and receives data using modulated sound frequencies which it translates into digital data bits. The word modem combines the words modulator and demodulator referring to this function.
External modems preceded internal models and were in proprietary use for decades prior to 1981, which marks the release of the first affordable and practical modem for public use. Hayes® Smartmodem® was revolutionary for its integrated controller that allowed the device to accept, store and execute user-generated commands. This modem could not only make outgoing calls on its own, but could also accept an incoming call from another modem. Before the Smartmodem, modems were designed to function as both a server and a client (sender or receiver) but not both, and a telephone number had to be dialed manually on the cradle of the telephone, then the handset placed on an acoustic coupler.
The low-cost 300 baud Smartmodem operated at a rate of 300 bits per second (bps) and generated many clones. Free bulletin board services became all the rage, quickly joined by private network services that created graphical environments where people could point and click on proprietary content. Over the next decade, as online content moved from text-based bulletin boards to fully graphical environments, the shortcomings of running at slower speeds became clear.
Not only did modems get faster, they became standard equipment, available as internal models that were soon included with every new computer. Current dial-up modems are 9600-baud, operating at speeds up to 56 kilobits (kbps) using a combination of techniques to maximize the technology’s limitations. Server-side compression incorporating an additional protocol known as v.44 can allow for theoretical speeds of up to 320 kbps for text transfer.
Despite constant improvement over the years, the limitations of the internal dial-up modem have given way to digital subscriber line (DSL) modems, cable modems, and fiber-optic modems that take advantage of new technologies to deliver content by the tens to hundreds times faster than dial-up connectivity. However, the internal modem is still standard equipment as a built-in fallback device in every desktop and laptop computer. For all its antiquity, dial-up is still considered the most reliable means of online access, as telephones are commonly available even when high-speed access is not.
