Internet and Wi-Fi – How are they different?

We are all very familiar with the words – Internet and Wi-Fi and, in fact, most of the time we use them for the same purpose. We use these words as if they were interchangeable and tend to forget that Internet and Wi-Fi are two separate things. Internet is actually the transmission of data done using high-speed internet while Wi-Fi uses radio frequencies and signals to transfer data wirelessly. Let’s take a look at what Internet and Wi-Fi mean so we can use the words correctly and get our basics down.

Internet and Wi-Fi – What do they mean?

Internet is a term that refers to high bandwidth data transmission. To put it more simply, if the Internet is the transmission of data between two devices, then it is the passageway over which that data travels. The internet uses multiple lines to transmit a lot of data rather than a single line used by older dial-up connections.

Internet connections can be of different types such as ASL, DSL, cable, fiber and more, however, what is common is that all technologies have the same goal of providing high-speed Internet to their users. So far, the fiber technology is the best we have found and provides seamless connectivity for users using high bandwidths.

Speaking of Wi-Fi, it is a technology that uses radio frequencies and signals to receive and send information wirelessly between two devices. Therefore, Wi-Fi is only one way to access the Internet wirelessly. All Wi-Fi connections operate on two frequency bands – 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. For longer distance and lower bandwidth, 2.4 GHz frequency is used while for shorter distance and higher bandwidth, 5 GHz is used.

So, to put the difference between Internet and Wi-Fi in easy to understand terms, Internet is a type of internet connection provided by your internet service provider while Wi-Fi is one of the technologies that allow us to connect to the Internet to access the Internet. For example, a LAN cable can be used to access the Internet by connecting the router to the device, however, Wi-Fi gives us the ability to access the Internet wirelessly.

Comments are closed.