Network Administrator Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to CompTIA Network+® Skills, Second Edition

2.8. Task 2.8: Using an Analog Modem

Once, in the still-blossoming age of personal computing, analog modems, devices that connect through a normal phone line to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), were our only way of accessing remote networks. Since those days, the industry has offered various other solutions, from the ISDN terminal adapters of the 1990s to the DSL and cable modems of today. Nevertheless, an analog modem can be a surprisingly welcome and convenient resource when you're away from your normal surroundings. It takes practically nothing to run a line cord from the RJ-11 modem interface of your laptop to the wall jack in order to access the Internet and download a driver for a NIC you just pulled out of storage. One alternative ...