3
W h a t Th e M o d em D o es
The RCA Digit al Cable M odem serves as a t w o-w ay high-speed bridge
bet w een your personal comput er and a cable Int ernet Service Provider
(ISP). It convert s inf ormat ion t hat originat es f rom t he Int ernet or your
comput er int o elect ronic messages t hat can be t ransport ed over t he same
w ires your cable company uses t o t ransport video signals.
W h a t Th e M o d em N eed s To D o I t s Jo b
Th e Ri g h t Ca bl e Co m pa n y
M ake sure your local cable company provides dat a services t hat use cable
TV indust ry-st andard DOCSIS t echnology.
Th e I n t er n et Ser v i ce Pr o v i d er (I sp)
Your cable company gives you access t o an Int ernet Service Provider (ISP).
The ISP is your gat ew ay t o t he Int ernet . It provides you w it h a pipeline t o
access Int ernet cont ent on t he World Wide Web (WWW).
Check w it h your cable company t o make sure you have everyt hing you
need t o begin; t hey’ll know if you need t o inst all special sof t w are or
reconf igure your comput er t o make your cable int ernet service w ork f or
you.
Ca bl e M o d em Ov er v i ew
ca bl e i n t er n et ser v i ce r eq u i r em en t s
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Cable company t hat off ers DOCSIS-compliant int ernet services
power
data
cable
traffic
on off
Computer
Internet
Cable
M odem
Cable Company
(Internet Service
Provider)