[masraum]

(primarily home use specifically) Back in the day, there were modems, routers, and APs, and they were mostly 2 separate devices, sometimes 3 separate devices. At some point very early on, they were mostly combined into a single device. A modem will convert a technology like DSL or cable to ethernet usually. A router allows the connecting of separate layer 3 networks together (connect your home network to your ISP network). And an AP or WAP connects to your router and then allows devices to live on your home network via wifi. Today, all 3 functions are mostly combined into a single device. It's been years since I had any separation between the 3 devices.

In an enterprise environment, there are still WAPs (commonly called AP) that are separate from the businesses main wired network. So if you worked for a large corp, in the office you may have PCs or VDI clients at your desk, but you may be able to connect laptops, tablets, or phones to a corporate wifi network. That connectivity is likely via a large network of WAPs that are usually segregated from the wired network of PCs.