Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

Serial communication equipment and interfaces transmit signals across point-to-point data links. Bits are sent one after another in a serial stream. Serial connections are commonly used to connect computers to modems. The bit stream traverses the serial link and enters the modem, where it is modulated onto an analog signal for transmission across telephone lines.