Cable Company Hotspots

Mon Nov 23 09:07:44 UTC 2020

The dual purpose does explain why the gateways are so big relative to what the incumbent phone companies provide. It is great redundancy. My telco DSL Internet went down and I hopped onto free wireless cable service that I am entitled since most of properties have cable Internet.

-R.

________________________________
From: NANOG <nanog-bounces+rod.beck=unitedcablecompany.com at nanog.org> on behalf of Jay Hennigan <jay at west.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2020 9:48 PM
To: nanog at nanog.org <nanog at nanog.org>
Subject: Re: Cable Company Hotspots

On 11/22/20 11:50, J. Hellenthal via NANOG wrote:
> Sad that in some cases the extra WiFi usage results in higher electric bills for the consumer.... and cannot be opted out of.

Power consumption is going to be miniscule, especially if the consumer
opts to use the cable company's built-in wi-fi themselves. If someone is
really that concerned about their electric bill they can unplug it when
not in use. Not practical if there's an ATA in it used for landline or
you have devices requiring Internet access 24/7 like security systems or
IoT. Of more practical concern is RF interference.

Typically the cable company puts their box in a convenient location for
access, either near where the cable comes in to the house or maybe
behind the TV. This often isn't the best place for radio coverage but
can create strong interference near the box.

If the customer doesn't use the cable box's wi-fi and installs their own
access point(s), there is no convenient way for them to turn off this
functionality. Many customers don't even know it exists. Most front-line
cable support techs don't either.

--
Jay Hennigan - jay at west.net
Network Engineering - CCIE #7880
503 897-8550 - WB6RDV
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