[lug] Qwest DSL modem

[Frank Whiteley]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben Luey" <lueyb at jilau1.Colorado.EDU>
To: <LUG at lug.boulder.co.us>
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2003 17:41
Subject: [lug] Qwest DSL modem


> I'm going to get DSL from Qwest and they want to charge me $5/month to
> rent a DSL modem (ActionTec 1520). They claim that only this modem (and
> two intel internal models) work with their dsl service. Is this true? Can
> I buy a (any?) dsl modem and save the $5/month? If so, any recommendations
> on modems to get (ideally something with two ethernet ports, so I don't
> need to buy a hub also)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ben
>
You can buy an ActionTec 1520S.  Price may vary if you can source at cost,
but retail is about $150.  There is a Qwest software upgrade on the net. The
ActionTec upgrade won't work, so there is something proprietary about the
Qwest implementation.  Haven't tried this, so don't know if it will work out
of the box with Qwest.

So, are you in a fixed location for some time?  At $5/month for the Gateway
rental, it will take 2.5 years to amortize the cost.  Might be worth it to
keep the replacement and warranty issues in Qwest's court.

Alternatively, you can find a C678 on eBay and take your chances.  Prices
are $100 plus shipping and up for buy it now.  The C678 is a better router,
handling up to four subnets.  The ActionTec is more of a gateway device, a
bit like a LinkSys DSL/Cable router, with DMZ, DHCP, and a few other
options.

Frank Whiteley