Basics: How can one imagine a connection to the internet?

Telephoning has changed significantly in recent decades. In the past, the telephone was always tied to one place; when you were out and about, the only option was to use a telephone box.

How telephony worked in the past

In the past, a cable had to be laid to the house for a telephone line. This cable ended in a telephone box on the wall of the house. Inside the house, the landline telephone was then plugged into the telephone socket and thus connected to the telephone line. Moving around with the telephone was only possible if the cable was long enough.

It was not until later that cordless phones found their way into our households. Finally, it was possible to move around freely with the phone in the house, but the base station of the cordless phone was still connected by cable.

In the 1990s, mobile phones became popular, which now really work wirelessly. Communication works via radio waves, and the transmission masts of the radio networks became increasingly visible.

Principle of the Internet TODAY

The transmission of data from the Internet can be imagined in exactly the same way.

A data line is laid to the house and the PC is connected to it with a cable connection.

However, you can also connect a so-called WLAN or Wi-Fi router to the data line. This router establishes a local wireless network that allows multiple digital devices to connect to the data line. The advantage: laptops, tablets and smartphones can surf the internet at the same time.

However, if you are on the move and leave the range of the Wi-Fi network, you can only connect to internet using a mobile data connection. Just like with mobile phones, the data is also transmitted via the mobile radio network.

Tip: A protected WLAN network is indicated in the list with a padlock on the WLAN symbol. The name and password can usually be found on the bottom of the WLAN router.

Smartphones usually remember the password for a secure Wi-Fi network and automatically reconnect as soon as you are within range. This means that the Wi-Fi connection is used preferentially, which saves on mobile data usage.

There are therefore two different methods available for connecting to the internet, which work in completely different ways:

Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi)

• Local
• Always tied to a specific location
• Each Wi-Fi connection must be set up before it can be used
• The costs are borne by the owner of the Wi-Fi network

Mobile data connection

• Mobile
• Always tied to the network provider and the agreed tariff Works as soon as ‘Mobile data’ is switched on on the smartphone
• The costs are borne by the smartphone user (either as part of the mobile phone contract or as additional costs)