Do all wireless routers require a cable connection to a modem for internet service?

In this excerpt from
Answercast #7, I look at the various ways that wireless services can work,
look at wireless providers, and discuss if you can get it for free.

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Where does internet come from?

The most common form of this question (what people are really asking and I have to assume this is probably what you are asking) is, “Can I just get internet from the air? I hear about all of this wireless stuff? Can I just have a router that just grabs it from the air?”

The answer to that is actually, “Yes.”

Cellular wireless

There are routers that will connect to your cellular provider (your cellular or mobile phone provider) and act as a wireless router. It’s based on using an internet connection off of your cellular or mobile connection.

There’s also something called WiMax. In my area, it’s provided by a company called Clearwire that is very similar. You sign up for their service, they give you a router that basically plugs into the wall, and that’s it. You can connect hardwire computers to it if you want to. It picks up the internet from the WiMax service and makes it available to you in your home.

The downside for both of these is that you have to be in a coverage area. If you’re out of there, or if you don’t have wireless WiMax coverage in your area, you can’t use that service. If you don’t have cellular phone coverage in your area, then that service is not going to apply.

Free internet

The other part of this question (that people often are really asking) is, “Can’t I get it out of the air for free?”

The answer there is, “No.”

Both of these services that I just suggested are services for which you sign up and pay for on a monthly basis, just like you do with your regular wired ISP.

So, the short answer is, “Yes, there are absolutely devices that do that.” You need to sign up for the services that provide internet wirelessly and you can go on from there.

Connecting to a modem wirelessly

If you have a wired connection and you have a modem that you are attempting to connect to wirelessly, the answer there is probably, “No.”

The modem itself would have to have the capability of being connected to wirelessly. Sometimes what ISPs will do is they will provide a combination modem-router-wireless access point. What they’ve done is combined all three devices into a single box. In which case, you don’t need another router.

What the ISP has provided is a wireless access point, and you’re ready to go. You plug in your DSL or your cable into one side and everything is then wireless on the other side ready to connect to your computers.

Next – Can my neighbor view and monitor my browsing if I use his wireless connection?