In my opinion, if the link is point-to-point then MAC protocol should not be required. But I am still confused because the question contains 'Internet access'.
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By the way, the link to the Internet is not a simple point-to-point connection. You connect to a router that connects to your carrier's router that connects to other routers in its network that then connects to other companies' routers, etc. until you reach the last router before your destination. Each link in the chain can use a different layer-2 protocol that may or may not use MAC addressing.– Ron Maupin ♦Commented Apr 16 at 19:12
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2 Answers
No, at least not in theory.
A MAC address is required when a MAC-based link-layer (L2) protocol is used, most prominently Ethernet or IEEE 802.11 aka Wi-Fi. Whether you use a direct link to a modem, a router, proxy or similar, or go through a multi-node network doesn't matter.
Not all L2 protocols use MAC addressing though: a few decades ago, people used devices like analog modems or ISDN cards along with PPP - without any MAC addresses.
The layer-2 protocol used by a PC is most likely one of the IEEE LAN protocols (ethernet, token ring, Wi-Fi, etc.), and they use MAC addressing. Not all layer-2 protocols use MAC addressing (frame relay, ATM, PPP, HDLC, etc.).
In the modern world, ethernet and Wi-Fi have won the LAN protocol. In the past, you may have used something like ATM, that uses VPI/VCI instead of MAC addressing. ATM started to be used on desktops for a short period of time.
Between routers, it can be a mixed bag of addressing. For example, a DSL router may use PPPoA (PPP over ATM). PPP is point-to-point, so all traffic is destined for the other end, and no addressing is necessary. Your PC probably uses ethernet to the DSL router that then uses something else to the carrier router.
