Running 2 modems (data and VOIP)

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jziggity

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Running 2 modems (data and VOIP)

#1

Post by jziggity » Sun Aug 25, 2013 3:54 am

So, TWC jacked up the modem lease fee again to $5.99/month. Just about 6 months ago it was free, then $3.95/month, now this. It clearly makes sense for me to purchase my own, with the caveat that I have TWC digital phone service as well. Such service is derived directly from the TWC provided modem.

I checked and double checked with a TWC online chat person that I still need to keep their modem for phone service, which I do. Here's the interesting part: as long as I don't use their modem for data, just their VOIP service, their modem goes back to being free (go figure). I would still need to provide my own modem for data service.

So, any problems that anyone can see with this setup, having 2 modems? The one for VOIP would not be connected to my internal home network in any way. I assume all should go well, but I wanted to check with the group at large here. Does anyone have this setup already?

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Scallica

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#2

Post by Scallica » Sun Aug 25, 2013 12:26 pm

jziggity wrote:It clearly makes sense for me to purchase my own, with the caveat that I have TWC digital phone service as well. Such service is derived directly from the TWC provided modem.
What modem did they provide you with? There are plenty of cable modems that handle voice/data service simultaneously, such as the Motorola Surfboard series.

You shouldn't have to purchase your own equipment, but if you plan on making an investment, definitely buy a modem that is DOCSIS 3.0 certified. And of course, make sure TWC will support it.

http://www.staples.com/Motorola-SURFboa ... uct_805588
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jziggity

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#3

Post by jziggity » Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:38 pm

That is the same modem I was planning on purchasing from Amazon, same price even. It is listed on TWC's site under their approved list of modems for those who wish to purchase their own, so no problems there. The current one that TWC has provided me with is a Scientific Atlanta Webstar modem (it looks older than dirt). But it does have two phone jacks on the back of it (apparently it will support up to two different VOIP lines), so I just have a standard phone cable going from the phone jack of the modem to a regular telephone wall outlet, and that provides phone service for all of the jacks throughout my house.

The Motorola modem we are both looking at doesn't have any phone jacks on it. I am not aware of any consumer level modem currently on the market that would provide a VOIP line and data capabilities...?

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Scallica

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#4

Post by Scallica » Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:07 pm

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mdavej

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#5

Post by mdavej » Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:34 pm

If you really want to save some money, consider dropping phone altogether or at least getting a cheaper VOIP service. Mine runs about $3/month.

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#6

Post by adam1991 » Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:08 am

yeah, cableco phone service is 100% profit to them--and is damned expensive.

Depending on what you want/need, you can treat it like prepaid cell service and go cheap cheap cheap, or go all the way up to unlimited with an incredible feature set--for $200 for 24 months, plus $3.50/month or so taxes.

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#7

Post by jziggity » Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:36 am

Scallica wrote:There are several ones available.

http://moto.arrisi.com/Video-Solutions/ ... 5121_US-EN
Naturally, none of the models with the "voice" part are on TWC's approved list - shocking.

I guess I would consider something like Ooma, but I've heard that their device needs to be (or works best when it is) connected between the cable company's moden and the user's router. Conveniently this allows the device to snoop on ALL of the user's internet traffic, and I'm sure that data is not passed on to any advertisers in any way in order to form the foundation of their business model. That may explain why they are still in business when they offer a product that is only a few bucks a month to use. Or so go the internet rumors at least...

At any rate, I will probably give the dual modem setup a whirl while I shop around for other VOIP services. I'll post back with results when it is up and running.

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#8

Post by crawfish » Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:47 am

jziggity wrote:So, any problems that anyone can see with this setup, having 2 modems? The one for VOIP would not be connected to my internal home network in any way. I assume all should go well, but I wanted to check with the group at large here. Does anyone have this setup already?
Yep, for several years. I have an Arris telephony modem and Motorola SB6120 DOCSIS 3 modem. The only caveat I know concerns the use of an amp. If your phone modem is behind the amp, it won't work in a power outage despite having its own battery backup. So, from the wall, I have a two-way splitter with the phone modem connected to one side and the amp to the other. I use the Motorola Signal Booster which works great along with my Regal splitters.

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#9

Post by foxwood » Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:16 am

jziggity wrote:I guess I would consider something like Ooma, but I've heard that their device needs to be (or works best when it is) connected between the cable company's moden and the user's router. Conveniently this allows the device to snoop on ALL of the user's internet traffic, and I'm sure that data is not passed on to any advertisers in any way in order to form the foundation of their business model. That may explain why they are still in business when they offer a product that is only a few bucks a month to use. Or so go the internet rumors at least...
Given how trivially easy it would be to verify that, by simply snooping on the ooma's own traffic, I think "rumor" is too kind. The phrase you're looking for is "conspiracy theory".

(I don't own an ooma, but have benefitted from incredibly cheap international calls for over 10 years - the cost of providing voip service is tiny compared to the overhead of a traditional phone network).

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#10

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:04 pm

How about a free VOIP alternative. Google "Obihai". It uses Google Voice for your US telephone service, which is (still) free. Also allows you to connect to other Obi devices worldwide free of charge. Setup one at home, and ship one to your family overseas, and you can talk to your family for free (requires broadband internet service, of course).

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#11

Post by mcewinter » Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:09 pm

There's also Ooma - free VOIP and is available at most major retailers these days.

http://www.ooma.com/

You do have to pay taxes though, which I believe amounts to a buck or two a month.

If you can find their older system known as the core package (Hub and Scout) then you pay NO taxes.

The problem with using phone service tied to your internet service is switching services becomes much more difficult.

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#12

Post by mdavej » Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:15 pm

Go a few posts back. I don't think the OP is interested in Ooma.

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#13

Post by mcewinter » Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:54 pm

mdavej wrote:Go a few posts back. I don't think the OP is interested in Ooma.
Ah! My bad.

To correct the OPs notion...Ooma can plug into your router and does NOT have to reside between the modem and router. I have it set up that way without issue. ...as does a couple of family members of mine. Ooma is great.

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#14

Post by blueiedgod » Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:08 pm

mcewinter wrote: The problem with using phone service tied to your internet service is switching services becomes much more difficult.
You can port land line numbers just you can cell phone numbers.

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#15

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:32 pm

The reason Ooma recommends connecting the Ooma device between your modem and router is because the Ooma device has QoS built-in to reserve enough bandwidth to prevent your Internet usage from interrupting a telephone conversation. If your router has QoS features, you should be able to connect the Ooma to one of the Router's LAN ports, and setup QoS to do the same thing.

I doubt that Ooma is snooping on your Internet usage, but I suppose it's possible.

A bigger concern is connecting a device which contains a router (which I presume the Ooma does) between your router and modem. This could cause problems with any port forwarding you have setup in your router. I had an issue with this when I connected an AiRave (it's a micro-cell device from Sprint) between the router/modem at my ex-wife's house. My kids had weak signal at their mom's house, and Sprint provided the AiRave free of charge. My son had some problems with some of his games and other stuff because the AiRave was blocking the traffic. So, I just logged in to the AiRave and port-forwarded ALL ports to the router, so that the router could deal with the traffic with no restrictions from the AiRave. I assume you could do the same type of thing with the Ooma.

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#16

Post by mcewinter » Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:04 pm

^Yeah, port forwarding on the Ooma is simple but it is redundant, especially when it comes to any sort of housekeeping should you have to make any changes. Nevertheless, dollar for dollar Ooma is a good investment.

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#17

Post by mcewinter » Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:06 pm

blueiedgod wrote:
mcewinter wrote: The problem with using phone service tied to your internet service is switching services becomes much more difficult.
You can port land line numbers just you can cell phone numbers.
You make it sound easy and fast. Sometimes it's not. I didn't say it was impossible, but it is inconvenient.

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#18

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:18 pm

mcewinter wrote:^Yeah, port forwarding on the Ooma is simple but it is redundant, especially when it comes to any sort of housekeeping should you have to make any changes. Nevertheless, dollar for dollar Ooma is a good investment.
Well, the router at my ex-wife's house isn't the best router. It was easier (for me) to just port-forward EVERYTHING through the AiRave than it was to configure her router for QoS (if it even has that ability). And I certainly wasn't going to buy a new router for my ex-wife. On the rare occasion that I'm in her house, I'll do whatever I need to do so that I can leave as soon as possible.

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#19

Post by mcewinter » Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:22 pm

barnabas1969 wrote:
mcewinter wrote:^Yeah, port forwarding on the Ooma is simple but it is redundant, especially when it comes to any sort of housekeeping should you have to make any changes. Nevertheless, dollar for dollar Ooma is a good investment.
Well, the router at my ex-wife's house isn't the best router. It was easier (for me) to just port-forward EVERYTHING through the AiRave than it was to configure her router for QoS (if it even has that ability). And I certainly wasn't going to buy a new router for my ex-wife. On the rare occasion that I'm in her house, I'll do whatever I need to do so that I can leave as soon as possible.
I haven't even tried to forward all ports, that would be ideal but it works just fine behind my router so I'm not concerned, but it is worth looking into.

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#20

Post by jziggity » Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:05 pm

So today I finally hooked up the 2nd data modem. I was able to borrow an ever so slightly used Motorola SB6121 modem free of charge, for the time being, so my out of pocket expense on this (for now) is zero. It took TWC ridiculously long to get it working (30+ minutes), but it appears to be working well now. Odd effect though: my speed actually DROPPED by about 5Mbps with the new modem over the crusty old TWC provided one (as measured at speedtest.net). I was previously getting around 20-25Mbps, but now I'm down to 15. I only pay for 15, so I guess I can't really complain. If anything though, I was hoping my speed was going to go up even more. Ha, wishful thinking I guess.

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