Those who were lucky enough to grow up with internet at home, just like having running water, often have no idea what a modem was. They haven’t heard its sound, which we had associated with the very essence of the internet, nor do they know the frustration of someone in the house wanting to use the phone while the modem occupied the line to bring a picture of Pamela from the latest Playboy to our computer (the motto being: the internet is for porn).

What Was a Modem?

The modem (short for "modulator-demodulator") is a device used to transmit data over telephone lines or other forms of telecommunication lines. The modem converts digital signals from a computer into analog signals that can be transmitted over telecommunication networks (a process known as modulation) and, conversely, converts received analog signals back into digital (a process known as demodulation).

PSTN Modem

If you had a landline, it was relatively easy to get internet access. Up until about 2002, having internet required not only a landline but also an internet subscription, which provided you with a combination of username, password, a phone number, and of course, a modem to connect. From 2002 onwards (at least that’s when I noticed it), prepaid internet time cards became available. These cards provided a phone number and a code, which, with your modem, allowed you to connect to the internet.

For those unfamiliar with how modems worked, it might sound strange that you needed a phone number. The modem had to dial the phone number provided by the internet service provider (ISP), which routed your connection to another modem/server. Your modem and the ISP’s modem/server negotiated how the signal would be transmitted via the phone line (the piercing sound you may have heard was actually this negotiation), and then your computer became part of the ISP’s network.

ADSL Modem: Between Two Worlds

In the summer of 2005, I got ADSL at home for the first time. It came as part of an "ADSL in a Box" kit that included everything needed for the setup, such as documents to send to the provider (in this case, Forthnet) and an ADSL modem. This was a transitional period where even ISPs were unsure how users would handle ADSL. This was because the ADSL modem was a device that you connected to your computer via USB, plugged the phone line into the modem, and used a Windows application to connect to the internet. Naturally, only one person could use the internet at a time—unless you took the time to figure out how to share the connection with other devices.

Soon after, ADSL modem-routers emerged, offering both options: you could connect the router as you would today or use the modem via USB with a specific application. Personally, I never used the modem functionality of a modem-router. Three months after my first ADSL connection, I bought a US Robotics router so I could connect to the internet easily with Linux.

Speed of Light

The first time I used the internet from home was around 2001. At that time, ADSL in Greece was still nonexistent, and the connection speed I could achieve with a PSTN modem was 33.6Kbps—since I had an old modem gifted by a friend. He had given it to me because he had upgraded to the peak modem of the era: 56Kbps.

While these speeds seem laughable today, back then, the internet's demands weren’t exceedingly high. To give some perspective, the lowest ADSL speed at the time was 384Kbps—nearly seven times faster than a 56Kbps modem but still 62 times slower than the maximum ADSL speed today, which now seems sluggish.

Epilogue

Many years have passed, and we’ve grown accustomed to uninterrupted internet access. However, those of us who experienced it will never forget the sound of the modem or the anticipation of waiting for late at night (when phone rates were lower) to connect with our slow little modem. We’d eagerly browse topics we were interested in, communicate, or play games. The modem is a part of internet culture, as evidenced by the memes that occasionally circulate, making us laugh and reminisce.