What Is A Modem And What Does Fast Mean In The Modem World?

The modem word is taken from MOdulator / DEModulator. A modem is a computer accessory that permits your computer to communicate with other computers via the telephone system, which can not handle computer signal unless they are altered. The phone system, after all, was designed for human voice, so it's optimized to carry the sound frequencies the human voice uses.

To send computer signal, a modem modulates (changes) these signals into sounds within the frequency range of the human voice. It also demodulates incoming signals so the computer can understand them.
What does fast mean in the modem world? Modems are rated by the number of bits per seconds (bps) the modem can transmit (Sometimes it is referred to as the "baud rate" but technically that's incorrect).

Today's high speed modems operate at speeds of 14,400 bps (14.4 Kbps) which is reasonably for displaying text on the web, and 28,800bps (28.8 Kbps), which is minimum speed you will need to browse graphics-laden web pages with comfort.
After the configuration of your modem, you just need to create a new network connection and then provide your Dial Up access User name, Dial Up Access Password and the Telephone number of the Provider to access the service.

Well about the MODEM so simply, it is a digital device which is used for the internet dial up connection.Now in detail, MODEM is a combination of two words i.e MO and DEM, now in these two words MO is taken from MODULATION and the other part of the word i.e DEM, it is taken from DEMODULATION.By modulation we mean that "to convert the analogue signal to digital signal" and By Demodulation we mean that "to convert the digital signal to analogue signal."    Physically modem is a one hardware device but, logically it is a combination of two functions.So simply MODEM perform these two main functions MODULATION and DEMODULATION.Modem is the main thing which is responsible for converting the analogue data into digital data form.    Moreover modem is a device which is used to enable the communication between two devises and connect them logically via using telephone line.  By fast modem we mean that, MODEM which connects at high bit rate and give good performance, means which sends more data on line.Now a day the 56 kbps offering data rate modem is best one.And also that modem is best which don't disconnect frequently.

Modem stands for Modulation/demodulation. Modem is a device that is used in computers for making a connection with the Internet using ISP (Internet Service Provider). It is basically a communication device that is used for transferring/ receiving a data to or from the Internet.
Since digital computers understand data in digital format only while PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) is analog based communication, that is why a device is required for converting data in digital format into data in analog format and this device is Modem.
The process of converting digital data into analog format is called "Modulation" while the inverse process of converting analog data into digital format is called "Demodulation".
There are two types on modems;
(a). Internal Modems.
(b). External Modems.
(a). Internal Modem: It's a modem that is inserted inside computer system in PCI slot. On the back panel Internal Modem has got jackets for connecting it with a telephone line.
(b). External Modem: It's a modem that doesn't reside inside a computer system. External modems can be connected either with a Serial port or maybe connected with USB slot of a computer (if it's a USB Modem).
External Modems are more reliable and gives more bandwidth to a user than Internal Modem. A fast modem is a modem that offers more bandwidth to a user.