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Comment by seanmccann | Hacker News Reader

I called Comcast and had 2 options. Pay $50/month for unlimited or pay $25/mo for unlimited, but I would have to forgo using my own modem/router and use theirs. Decided to just pay the $50, but we'll see what happens. I could see them increasing the cap or forgiving overages for a few months.

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You must maybe use their modem (how they can check it I don't know, maybe they don't give you the configuration parameters for the network?) but you always have the possibility to add your own router after it and basically use their modem/router as a simple modem.

It's what I did in my country before they made illegal for ISPs to force you to use their modem/router, simply used the modem/router of the provider as a modem, forwarding all the ports to my own router that I used to do actual routing, WiFi access point and all other stuff that a router does.

They also charge you a monthly fee for using their modem.

They waive that in a lot of cases, as they're trying to build out their network of xfinitywifi hotspots you see everywhere. I still ran my own modem, but it's a point to keep in mind.

If it's providing a WiFi hotspot, then it's their router that you're using, not just their modem.

They give you a combo router and modem by default when you run their modems (for the reason given above). The WAN port is just a downstream port for the internal router.

I don't think there's a way to disable the router itself in most cases these days, just some of the services it provides.

I have Comcast and use my own modem and router. The requirement for the modem was simply one which supports at least DOCIS 3.0.

It has to be on the whitelist, and they require that they control the software running on it.

How would they control the software on my modem? I bought it from a third party.

The modems take firmware updates from the cable line side without prompting you.

Do you have some reference for me to learn about this?

The modem has to be authorized via MAC address on the network. They know the MACs of the modems they own, so it's very simple to know if a modem is theirs or not.

That has nothing to do with what he said. At the very least, you can leave their modem also set as a router and just put your router behind it (double NAT). More likely, you can turn off all of the "router" functions of their modem and still put your own router behind it.

There is no way for them to differentiate whether the device behind the modem is a router or a computer.

Really? Did he not say:

>You must maybe use their modem (how they can check it I don't know, maybe they don't give you the configuration parameters for the network?)

Because I answered the "how?"

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