The word "modem" is a contraction of the words modulatordemodulator

A modem is typically used to send digital data over a phone line. Modems came into existence in the 1960s as a way to allow terminals to connect to computers over the phone lines

 As per above fig A dumb terminal is simply a keyboard and a screen . A very common dumb terminal at the time was called the DEC VT-100 The 1960s were the age of time-shared computers. Business would often buy computer time from a time-share facility and connect to it via a 300-bit-per-second (bps) modem.

 A very common dumb terminal could display 25 lines of 80 characters each When the user typed a character on the terminal, the modem sent the ASCII code for the character to the computer. The computer then sent the character back to the computer so it would appear on the screen . A person would set up a computer with a modem or two and some BBS software, and other people would dial in to connect to the bulletin board system. The users would run terminal emulators on their computers to emulate terminal. People got along at 300 bps for quite a while

Modem speeds went through a series of steps at approximately two-year intervals

300 bps - 1960s through 1983 or so

1200 bps - Gained popularity in 1984 and 1985 2400 bps 9600 bps - First appeared in late 1990 and early 1991 19.2 kilobits per second (Kbps) 28.8 Kbps 33.6 Kbps 56 Kbps - Became the standard in 1998

ADSL, with theoretical maximum of up to 8 megabits per second (Mbps) in 1999

INTERNAL MODEM

Internal modems produced today are designed for ISA or PCI connectors and implemented in the form of a usual expansion card to be inserted in a slot of a mainboard.

 Modem don't have indicators of the status and working modes

You have to make settings for the additional port to prevent possible conflicts with other devices in the system
A power supply of a computer, as well as neighbor cards create additional noise which can prevent correct operation of the modem For a modem installation you are to open the system block and set (with the help of jumpers) a required port address and interrupt numbers if a modem is not compatible with the Plug-&-Play specification for modems via an ISA bus In case the modem hangs you have to reboot the whole system or even restart the machine;

 A lower price due to a lack of a case, a power supply and status indicators No need in additional connectors and power supply, and interface cables A free port for connection is not necessary;

 The device looks like a small plastic box with LEDs or Liquid Crystal indicators of the STATUS . The modem is connected to a computer with an interface cable (RS232, LPT or USB, depending on the model), and is powered from the electricity supply network via an external power supply unit Some external modems with a USB interface, unlike those with the RS-232, don't require an external power supply unit they are powered from the computer via a USB cable.

 Possibilityz to work with any computer which has the required type of an interface connector Status indicators allow controlling the modem's work Its own power supply unit gives minimal pickups and noise from the internal devices installed in the computer, In case the modem hangs, it is not necessary to reboot the computer, you are only to restart the modem itself You don't need to open the system block, what is important in case of a warranty label on it, plus it is simple to install.

 Higher price of the modem due to the external case and a power supply unit It is desired to use a UPS: power supply units of modems don't ensure the quality work in case of severe changes in the voltage. Pulsed power supply units ensuring such work are used rarely in modems Additional mains for connection

Necessity in a place in the system block, and sometimes obstructing interface and power supply cables

Application with some examples of modem

M2M Modems are embedded with the machine and transport
higher level protocols between the machine and central location via the network

TCP/IP enabled remote machines such as Embedded PC's, where

modems provide the physical network connectivity

Point to Point "polled Cable Modem

networks where proprietary or industry specific protocols to communicate with central servers. Cable modems can be either internal or external to

the computer as your cable system has upgraded to digital cable,

the new set-top box the cable company provides will be capable of connecting to the Internet as in fig..

In CABLE MODEM regardless of their outward appearance, all cable modems contain certain key components: A tuner A demodulator A modulator A media access control (MAC) device A microprocessor

 Fax
Modern modems have nearly the same quality of fax receipt/transfer quality.

Automated telephone number identifier

Some hardware modems can define a number of a calling person

Voice possibilities
The majority of modems have Voice support and can beused as an autoresponder with the required softwareinstalled

Expensive or cheap
1. Modems up to $200 They have additional properties
and options, be it a password protection or a dedicated line modem

2.
.

Modems for home and office use up to $100

It is the most popular group of modems , Typical models are Inpro IDC-5614BXL/VR, modems of the USRobotics Faxmodem series (former Sportster) and a series of Internet-modems from ZyXEL - Omni 56K

3.

Program modems (Win-modems, Softmodems) up to $50 In these devices modem's functions are
implemented by the CPU