This device enables a computer to transmit and receive data by means of a communications link, such as a telephone line. Modems are necessary because the digital electrical signals produced by a computer are unsuitable for sending along transmission lines. The process of converting computer signals into a form suitable for transmission is called modulation. The reverse process, making the transmitted signals intelligible to the computer, is called demodulation.
Modems provide access to the telephone network for e-mail and for the Internet .
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