mechanic wrote in news:e2qt8nor9swp
:

On Wed, 05 Dec 2018 14:40:58 -0500, nospam wrote:

in some cases, a router *does* directly connect to the internet.

By strict definition, a router receives a digital packet from one port, and
uses that packet's destination address info to select which other port to
sent it out of, thus 'routing' it to its destination.


In the UK domestic 'routers' connect to a local Digital Subscriber
Line Access Multiplexer (property of OpenReach) that routes your
traffic to somewhere in your ISP's network before it hits the
'Internet'.

The DSLAM is the equipment that places the DSL data onto the analog
subscriber phone line, and is located somewhere between the phone switch
and the subscriber. These days they are usually co-located on premise with
the telephone switch.

For outgoing data, the DSLAM takes the packet off of the DSL line and
passes it on to the provider's router to send it off to its destination on
the internet.