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[boogy]

hi

after weeks of watching little yellow stickers with caution fibre overhead being attached to telegraph poles and thick black cables with what look like bits of russian tanks dangling here and there it looks like we have 4-6 weeks to get ready for the change from an unreliable 1.5mbps to a lot better service

searching the site underway

I think we will have an overhead cable to a fibre termination box called an ONT (optical network terminator) in the house and the first confusion assuming that's right is how to select the router to buy that will connect to that, or will I have to buy a modem router and use it in router mode.

So for wireless ac, easy to use, reliable, good support, etc and at the moment no idea how much to spend.

Can you help me to narrow it down and understand what I need?

I've been told my technicolor tg589 vn3 will not do the job.

Cheers

[skyeci]

I would imagine but might be wrong you will get your internet from an ethernet connection via the BT Fibre modem so any good router with a wan port would probably work just fine. I would go for one though that has gigabit  ethernet ports to get maximum throughput. I wish we were getting fibre - speed test be good to see when you get it.

Asus high end router should be good - my RT-AC88U has 8 gigabit ports including the wan port plus 5ghz wireless. Would of thought it would be able to handle it pretty well not that I will ever see it lol.

 

[boogy]

Sorry to be so dumb, but does that mean my new router box just needs a wan connection to enable it to connect to the bt box with an rj45 cable... Good point about the gigabit ports and so many of them - great! And 5Ghz too - never had that before. Off to do some research on the asus rt-ac88u.

thanks

[skyeci]

I guess they will give you a cable when they install their kit, if not then use a good quality cat5e or even cat6 I suppose.

might of interest

 http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/36968/~/how-is-bt-infinity-fibre-to-the-home-installed%3F

just checking but I assume your router will need a wan port.

[boogy]

is this the one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC88U-AiProtection-Accelerator-Aggregation-x/dp/B019MKO43M/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1483965392&sr=1-5&keywords=asus+router

[skyeci]

yeap thats what I use, the wireless coverage is superb even at the top of the house.

Till someone chimes in though about the physical connection properties you would need to check if its suitable if you were thinking of buying it...

I am sure there are other models people might be using too.

can't seem to find much info about the connection though so this needs to be doubled checked - hopefully someone will help soon preferably with ftth

Just a thought wouldn't your provider give you a new router anyway that would be suitable to use?

[Dray]

If I'm right that your ISP is ZEN then their FTTP packages recommend a couple of routers
https://www.zen.co.uk/yourhome/superfast-fibre-broadband-packages/fibre-to-the-premises/

[boogy]

hi

you are correct about zen, and when I looked at the two rec'd boxes (fritzbox 3490 £138 and zyxel vmg8924 £150) I thought it was worth looking at some alternatives, as they don't give them away, and past experience of taking what's offered has been that the offering is usually adequate but not exciting. I'm pretty sure that I will want top of the range wireless capability so I think that means ac, mimo, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, good range, single seamless SSID, good config options, plus good monitoring and reporting options for when things go pear shaped. The 8 gigabit ports plus separate wan port sounds good also for connecting nas, sonos, humax, etc.

[Ronski]

Looking on the Zen page linked to it states the following in the FAQ

A special fibre optic modem known as an Optical Network Termination device is connected.

And as they supply a ZyXel vmg8924 which is a good router it does mean nothing special is required, as long as it has a WAN port you should be ok

[j0hn]

The Zyxel VMG8924 has 4 gigabit LAN ports, the required WAN port, and 5ghz ac WiFi. If you get supplied this already and have an average sized home & average usage then there's no need to buy anything else. The ridiculously high wireless speeds quoted on high end routers require special equipment at the receiving end

For example the Asus RT-AC88U will only achieve close to the quoted speeds if you use this with it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01EX7KNUM
Even then don't expect to get close to the speeds quoted as they are only achieved in a lab, with no interference, right next to each other.

[Ronski]

Zen want £150 to supply the Zyxel VMG8924, it's cheaper elsewhere.

[boogy]

Thanks all for the very useful pointers and debunking some of the mysteries.

Next main step will be bt installing an overhead fibre line to the outside of the property, followed by another later visit to install the inside bit.

Is this all old hat or are there things to look out for?

[jaydub]

Zen want £150 to supply the Zyxel VMG8924, it's cheaper elsewhere.

Zen were willing to sell them at £90 for new VDSL customers when I last enquired.  Might be worth the OP seeing what they can blag.