What Is the Difference Between a Router and Wireless Access Point?
What Is the Difference Between a Router and Wireless Access Point?
If, like most people, you find yourself adding more mysterious internet technology and equipment in your home or business, you may not feel quite sure what the differences are between some of them. Routers and wireless access points are two of the most confusing to differentiate, since their functions overlap quite a bit. Put briefly, a wireless access point is a subtype of router, but let's look a little deeper.
What Is a Router?
A router allows devices connected to your home or business network to communicate with each other. It can be a self-contained unit, or can be combined with a modem (a device that allows your network to access the internet) in a single unit, often called a gateway. Router communication can be wired (connected by a cable) or wireless (Wi-Fi) and includes:
- Communication between devices in your home or office network, for example from your laptop to a shared printer, or casting from your phone to a Smart TV over Wi-Fi.
- Communication between devices and the internet using the wired or Wi-Fi signal from your router, such as reading email or reading this article.
What Is a Wireless Access Point & How Is It Different?
As an end-user, the only difference you're likely to notice between a wireless access point (WAP) and a router is that you can only connect to a WAP over a Wi-Fi network, while most routers allow both wired and wireless connections. WAPs are connected to a router via high-speed data cables, and allow your network to expand further from a router (no more dead spots!), allow additional connections, and can create Wi-Fi if your router doesn't already. Typically, WAPs only communicate within your home or office network, while a router communicates both within that home or office network, and with the internet at large.
With rapidly changing technologies and requirements, choosing the best home or business network setup can be complicated and confusing, even if you feel tech-savvy. At Nextgen Multi Media, we're here to help you make sense of it all, and ensure you have a quality, cost-effective network that meets or exceeds your needs. Contact us today to see how we can put our expertise to use for you.





