Nov 20, 2015 - New Technology, Internet, Southern Arizona

Equipment that we use every day to connect us to the Internet is commonly confused or misunderstood entirely by computer users. Tucson’s average user just knows that their Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) technician brought this “little box” to them when they set up the Internet service.

We know you enjoy exploring the Internet, and in many cases today users depend on it to work and complete other tasks. We also understand that what you need to get connected can be confusing to someone who isn’t entirely tech savvy and you may be worried that you are buying or renting equipment that you don’t really need. In all honesty, most people just want their equipment to work properly and quickly when they want to navigate web pages. Your big question will be, “What is a necessity?”

To ease your fears, let us get you acquainted with what does what to get you hooked up to the great sea of information.

That “little box” brought to you by your ISP technician connects to your computer and puts you in touch with the latest news, friend’s Facebook posts, and important banking accounts on the Internet. Depending on the nature of service you have, that “little box” could be a modem, a router, a radio, or some combination of those. These devices are also called peripherals.

Routers are optional if you only have a single device or computer, but you must often have either a modem or a fixed wireless radio unit to connect you to the Internet. Routers have the important job of allowing multiple computers on one network to connect to the Internet and each other.

With Bluespan Wireless a router is the only peripheral you could need. Bluespan provides an Ethernet connection so that a single computer can connect to the Internet, although a router is needed for multiple devices to share the connection. We allow Bluespan users to one of our routers or choose one of their own.

For DSL, cable, or dial-up internet, a modem is necessary to connect a single device, and a router is required on top of that if you’d like to share the connection across several devices. Routers sort out each computer’s IP address, which is simply an identifying number assigned to that particular computer, allowing each one its own traffic.

Set up of your equipment will be different with each situation. With DSL, cable, or dial-up modems, you will be connected with an Ethernet cable that runs from your computer to the modem, and the modem will be plugged into your wall outlet. Wireless modems can still only apply to one computer, and will eliminate the need for an Ethernet cable.

Most routers have Ethernet ports for several computers and are also wireless, allowing computers to still join the network and be in different rooms of a building or within a certain radius of a network. They can be built with either external or internal antennas, usually located at the back of the machine. If you have a modem and router set up (which you won’t need with Bluespan Wireless) the router will plug into your modem.

We hope we were able to demystify how you are connected to the Internet, at least to the point that you know what you need. We are here to assist you will questions about connectivity and services, so don’t hesitate to contact us for support!