Cable Company Hotspots

Mon Nov 23 15:01:53 UTC 2020

With Comcast, the subscriber can disable the public WiFi hotspot gateway
through their on-line portal (at least when I had a comcast gateway you
could do this). Of course when you go to a customer-provided cable modem
and/or CPE WiFi AP the hotspot no longer exists as the MSO no longer
controls the prem device.

-----Original Message-----
From: NANOG <nanog-bounces+sshali=pluribusnetworks.com at nanog.org> On Behalf
Of Jay Hennigan
Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2020 12:49 PM
To: 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