Can a wireless router 802.11g be used with dial-up connection?
Requires Free Membership to View
Most wireless routers are designed for use with residential broadband connections - that is, connecting your home WLAN to the Internet using cable modem or DSL or satellite. To connect your WLAN to the Internet using dial-up instead of broadband, you'll need:
- A dial-up router that speaks Ethernet on the LAN side, so that you can connect the dial-up router to your 802.11g wireless router, OR
- A dial-up router that speaks 802.11g Wi-Fi on the LAN side, so that you can connect wireless stations directly to the wireless router.
For example, Netgear's RM356 Remote Access 56K Modem Router connects to the Internet with a v.90 modem, and has four Ethernet ports. You could connect Netgear's WG602 54 Mbps (802.11a+g) Wireless Access Point to one of those Ethernet ports, and wireless stations would have dial-up access to the Internet via this AP. That's scenario #1. I haven't yet seen an 802.11g wireless router with dial-up in a single box (scenario #2), probably because there is not as much demand for dial-up anymore. Keep your eye on WLAN vendors like Netgear, Linksys, and D-Link that sell to the residential market if you hope to find such a product.
This was first published in July 2003