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Comment by mikestew | Hacker News Reader

Sure, it’s what I do as a Verizon->Frontier->Ziply FiOS user. But most users are not going to go out and procur a bunch of Ubiquiti equipment or whatever, they’re going to take the defaults.

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Also, with services like Xfinity, the monthly cost is substantially lower if you are using their router. This is because they scan the traffic for ad targeting, but most people don't care and don't want to buy their own router and then have to pay more per month to use it.

Really? How much lower? I have had my own modem so long I never knew this. Not that I would switch to theirs.

This must be new. It's been about 8 years since I've had Xfinity but I always had my own modem and router and got a discount (i.e. didn't have to "rent" the modem).

Iirc it was something small like $5 or $15 a month... I really only did it for the better hardware and software.

This was earlier in the year, we had started hitting the monthly data caps on our plan and getting penalized.

I went in and the unlimited plan was about $15 less per month using their modem/router than my own (which I already had), plus the router was free (I'm not paying a monthly equipment "rental" fee).

One annoyance was that their router didn't allow spaces in the WiFi password, so I had to reconfigure all my devices.

I could set up the router in bridge mode where it acts like a dumb modem and continue to use my own router, but I have not bothered with that.

Most of the CPE from various ISPs I've seen are barely powered enough to keep track of enough NAT connections. They're handing out devices capable of DPI on 100mb/s+ connections now?

I have heard that in some markets the only way to get unlimited service from Comcast (with no monthly cap) is to use their hardware.

I thought it was more using their router, especially over time. They charge $15/month for the router/modem which doesn’t sound too bad, but is $180/year on a device that retails for $180 or so. And they’ll happily keep charging that, forever - long past when their costs and a reasonable profit have been made.

They also force you to share your cable/wifi connection with other Xfinity users who are near you. Buying your own router and modem is a much better deal.

I've never been offered a better deal with Comcast/Xfinity for using their modems or hardware. Renting their stuff is $10/mo and a modem is $100, last I bought something like 5 years ago now, for a higher end one that supports gigabit service.

So, $100 or pay $10/mo forever, and over the past 5 years that $10 would be $600, or $500 saved by buying my own modem.

I use my own modem and router with XFinity, and I don't pay any more for doing it. In fact, I pay a little bit less because I'm not paying the monthly equipment rental fee.

That is, as long as I stay on top of it. Every 3 months like clockwork, they "forget" that I'm not renting their equipment and start billing me for it. I have to call them up and remind them.

Large scale wire fraud that will never be prosecuted.

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