Since the moment we started using smart devices, the terms Wi-Fi and internet have been used interchangeably. Is there a difference? The answer is yes!
Wi-Fi technology has become ever-present, making it readily accessible in various settings such as coffee shops, shopping malls, and even during family pizza nights. Whether individuals are discussing "connecting to Wi-Fi" or experiencing difficulties in "accessing Wi-Fi," the common challenge often lies in establishing an internet connection for their laptops, smartphones, or other devices.
Orange County Fiber is here to help with all things internet-related. This is your guide to Wi-Fi versus internet, and why it matters to your daily online connection.
What is Internet
The Internet is a massive global communications network. In fact, as its name suggests, it’s more than just one network—it’s a series of thousands of inter-connected networks. Think of the internet being a language and the Wi-Fi translates the language so many people can understand it.
While no one person or organization owns the Internet itself, each Internet service provider (ISP) typically owns its own network. It buys and installs the specialized networking equipment that makes it possible for customers like you—in addition to businesses, universities, hospitals, and more—to connect to the Internet. When you connect to your ISP’s network from your home or workplace, you have the ability to connect with other networks, companies, services and individuals who are also connected to the Internet. For example, you can stream movies on Netflix by connecting via the Internet to computer servers that Netflix owns or read your email by connecting to one of Gmail’s servers.
When you purchase monthly Internet services for your home, your ISP gives you all the physical equipment you need to connect your own devices to the Internet. This includes a physical line, such as a fiber optic cable, that will connect your home to the ISP’s network. Inside your home, this physical line is connected to an electronic device that’s usually called a modem.
How do I connect my devices to the Internet?
With your modem providing the Internet connection into your home, there are two ways you can connect your device to the modem.
Connecting with a physical cable
The first method, which is not very common anymore, involves physically plugging your computer into the port on the back of your modem using what’s called an Ethernet cable. When your computer is plugged into the modem, it becomes part of your ISP’s network, along with all the other individuals and business customers who have also connected their devices.
Connecting over Wi-Fi
The second method, which is the most common today, involves connecting your computer, tablet or smart phone to your ISP’s network without using a physical wire. This “wireless” connection is made possible by Wi-Fi technology; specifically by a second device in your home called a router or sometimes referred to as a gateway. This router is physically plugged into the modem with a cable or it is combined with the modem into a single piece of equipment.
The Wi-Fi router uses radio technology to broadcast a unique name (also known as a service set identifier, or SSID), which you or your ISP chooses when the router is first set up. When you’re on your laptop or other device, you can see a list of other Wi-Fi routers nearby such as yours and your neighbors’. You can select your router name from the list and enter the router’s password. And just like that, you’re connected to Wi- Fi. Since your router is connected to your modem, you can now access any online service or go to any website using your web browser.
Is connecting to Wi-Fi the same as connecting to the Internet?
The short answer is no, not technically. Just because you’re connected to your Wi-Fi router does not mean that you are also connected to the Internet. You might notice from time to time that your computer says you’re connected to Wi-Fi but you are not able to access any websites or send email. This means one of two things: either your modem is not properly connected to the Internet or your Wi-Fi router is not successfully connected to your modem.
So the next time you “get on Wi-Fi,” you’ll know there’s a bit more to it. You are actually connecting to a router that is then connecting to the modem that is then connecting to the Internet.
Wi-Fi | Internet |
It is a wireless networking technology used to send and receive signals from nearby devices to provide Internet access. | Whereas it is a telecommunication networking technology by which the device are interconnected globally. |
In wi-fi, radio frequency waves are used to send and receive information. | Whereas on the Internet, a set of predefined rules governed by the TCP / IP suite is used. |
Wireless devices can be connected to WiFi but it is not necessarily to the Internet. | While on the Internet, Wi-Fi is not required to connect computers globally. |
In WiFi, a computer is connected to the Internet. | Whereas on the Internet, many computers are connected to a network. |
A Wi-Fi network operating from one router operates no further than 50-100 meters. | The mobile Internet has 3G or 4G, which is accessible for several kilometers and even tens of kilometers, where there is a mobile connection, it is almost everywhere. |
In 1997, Vic Hayes invented WiFi as he chaired the IEEE committee that developed the specifications of IEEE 802.11. | The evolution of the Internet started in 1969 with Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). |