Home > Is WiFi the same as internet
Today, whatever we do we need the internet to a higher or lesser degree. We use it for work, to play, to watch movies and sports, and to communicate with each other. ANd in everyday conversations, we use terms such as WiFi, wireless, LAN, VPN, and many others. But have you ever asked yourself what those terms actually mean, is WiFi the same as internet?
To answer this question let’s first see what is WiFi. It is a family of network protocols that uses wireless communication for its operation. Most commonly is used for creating Local Area Networks or LAN. LANs are computer networks that span a single location, usually not bigger than a single building or a house. In simplest terms, they are made of computers and devices connected to a nearby router.
The other part of the question is WiFi the same as Internet, is hiding in explanation what is the Internet. Most people think that it is a network of web servers that host various websites. But actually, it is a global network of interconnected computer networks and devices that uses TCP/IP protocols. When you connect to the internet, your device actually becomes a part of it.
If you are still wondering is WiFi the same as Internet, let me sum up the answer. No, WiFi is a network technology for creating and managing LANs, small networks that cover just physically small areas or that can extend into other areas like the wifi extender PH0R 4, such as one house. These LANs in turn can connect to the Internet.
In a way, the internet is all the data you can access on various websites and services, and the huge global infrastructure of servers and communication lines between them, the information highway. You most likely, physically, access the Internet because your ISP has stretched a wire running all the way to your home. WiFi is the way you connect to that wire, by not using wires.
Now that we have answered the question is WiFi the same as Internet, let’s move to another question, the difference between wireless internet and WiFi. As I’ve said above WiFi is not internet per se, but it can allow you to access the internet. WiFi allows for a group of computers and similar devices to communicate with each other and to send and receive data from the internet.
WiFi uses radio waves to allow this communication to take place, between each device in the LAN and with the Internet. But most importantly, it can work without the Internet.
The wireless Internet on the other hand is a way to connect to the Internet. It uses microwave transmission for communication and requires the line of sight to function. Because of this limitation, areas where wireless Internet is available, have stationary relay stations used for transmitting data to users.
These relays function in a similar way to terrestrial TV and radio transmitters, but they can receive data as well.
Now that you know the answer to the question are WiFi and the internet the same thing, let’s talk about what you need for a WiFi network. The most important part of any network is the router. Just as its name suggests it routes traffic around the network. You probably have seen in the old movies how telephone operators route calls between people, computer routers work similarly.
But routers don’t create physical connections between computers, instead, they create logical connections by routing the data traffic and assigning the IP addresses to devices that are part of the LAN. Another thing that is important for WiFi, that such a router has the ability to function as a wireless access point. Without this, your devices can’t connect wirelessly to the router.
If you have never wondered is WiFi the same as Internet, you could be under the impression that they are the same. After all, once you connect your PC, laptop, or some other device; you have Internet access.
But, the truth is that you have it because the WiFi allows it, not because it is the Internet.
WiFi is a technology to connect computers and devices in a network that spans over a relatively small area, that can be extended using a WiFi extender, while the internet is a global network that a WiFi network can be connected to. Now that you know the answer to the question is WiFi the same as internet, let’s see what you can do with WiFi.
Its main purpose is the creation of Local Area Networks without using any wires for connecting devices to routers or directly to each other. This allows for all devices in the network to communicate with each other, and possibilities are literally limitless. Sending messages between two computers, streaming videos or music on TV from a computer, playing multiplayer games that support LAN with friends and family, etc.
By being wireless it means that you are not stuck to a single place from which you can use your device. Using an ethernet cable to connect your desktop PC to your router is not a problem, but with portable devices, it would be cumbersome and would be contrary to the purpose of portability.
WiFi also allows new devices to be easily connected to it. All you need is to know the correct security key, better known as the password, and you can get connected to the WiFi network. It also allows any device connected to a local network to access the internet.
Yes, WiFi doesn’t need Internet access to work, but then the devices connected to the local network can only communicate with each other. The WiFi will not stop functioning if it loses connection with the Internet. Your wireless router doesn’t need an internet connection to route the data traffic inside your LAN, it can function completely separate from the outside world.
But at the same time, your devices will be limited only to things that can be done through LAN and do not require access to some remote server. You will not have access to social networks or streaming services, but you will be able to play some games that have LAN support, if you own them, or cast multimedia content on your TV if it is WiFi enables.
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Jim
