Relationship among the Devices, What the Modem Does

Chapter 1: Connections and Setup

Relationship among the Devices

This illustration shows a cable company that offers Euro-DOCSIS compliant voice/data services.

What the Modem Does

The voice over IP cable modem is a residential voice-enabled cable modem that provides voice and high-speed data services over cable via your Telephony and Internet Service Providers (TSPs/ ISPs). It converts information that originates from the Internet or your computer into electronic messages that can be transported over the same wires your cable company uses to transport video signals. In addition, it converts standard telephone signals to a format that can be reliably transported over the Internet.

What the Modem Needs to Do Its Job

The Right Cable Company: Make sure your local cable company provides data services that use cable TV industry-standard Euro-DOCSIS or DOCSIS compliant technology (for DOCSIS, only for frequencies between 93-861 MHz).

The Internet/Telephony Service Provider (ISP/TSP): Your cable company provides you access to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Telephony Service Provider (TSP). The ISP is your gateway to the Internet and provides you with a pipeline to access Internet content on the World Wide Web (WWW). The TSP provides you with telephony access to other modems or other telephony services over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

Check with your cable company to make sure you have everything you need to begin; they’ll know if you need to install special software or re-configure your computer to make your cable

7Illustrations contained in this document are for representation only.