I was already aware when I opted to switch my internet from AT&T to cable that I would need to buy my own cable modem. So far I am the “proud” owner of a Linksys CM3008 and an Arris TG862g. The Arris is a “telephone ready” residential gateway and the Linksys is a plain bread and butter cable modem with no router or wifi or anything.
Since I own an old basic router with wifi (Belkin Wireless G) that has worked as both a router and as an Access Point I was able to immediately get things setup. It worked fine. If my basic goal was simply to replace my internet with a cheaper choice that served my needs this would do it. But wait! There’s more (as I said in another post).
I wanted to see if I could lower my landline cost too. I need to note that my wife is comfortable only with a landline. She is afraid she would lose a cell phone. One possibility to is to move to a VOIP solution. It needs to integrate with the house phone system so that it transparently works just like AT&T.
Enter, the “telephone ready” cable modem or residential gateway. The distinction appears to be exactly that . A “telephone ready” cable modem still will need a router to provide internet service to multiple internet devices. It can be plugged directly into a phone jack and will provide phone service to the rest of the house. I have one of these on order because of the results I got from using an Arris TG862g.
I am going to review how good or bad the Arris TG862g is in another post. I would not be exploring yet more products if it had been very good.
Tlm
