Don’t buy a cable modem if you subscribe to a fiber-internet plan such as Verizon Fios; such plans use their own equipment, to which you may be able to connect your own wireless router.

The two major components in a small computer network are a modem and wireless router ... company's DSL phone line, Verizon's FiOS network or a satellite modem. The router is wired to the modem.

Some wireless modems are bundled with wireless routers, devices which forward network packets. The router sends signals to transmit the information, and the modem receives it before sending the ...