In the last 5 years, I have changed houses 3 times and bought a new modem for every Internet service provider. So overall I bought 3 modems.
Don't we have single universal modem? What is your opinion ? Any advise please ?
Of course in some 12 or 24 month plans they include modem free. But that's a commitment.
Yes my bad. Edited. Thanks
No. A router is a router. Confused with modems maybe?
Yup confused
Not all routers are equal. Some ISPs have requirements that some routers can't do (VLAN tagging), there are also ISPs that won't supply their SIP details to use with third-party modems/routers.
Normally you don't need a modem. It comes with the house you buy or rent, as NBN. And I'm talking "NBN" you know, fibre optic connected from your house to the world, just like all the other nations before and after us have been doing this past decade(s).
Well, that is what is expected in 2018 *ahem * in 2020. But the reality is that FTTP is not a common thing, despite the fact we've paid for it several times over. So FTTN/FTTC will still need you to bring your own modem. Many of the Current Standard Modems support ADSL and VDSL (Fttn/Fttc). So more often than not, there's just one type of modem needed for Australians.
In certain spots, there is Cable connection available, and these require a Cable Modem. And if you're really "lucky" you might need to get access to Home Internet through the use of a 4G SIM modem. So all up there's 4 modem types, but you should really only need the one, or none.
Small correction - FTTC does not require the customer to supply a modem. Like FTTP and HFC ("cable") the "modem" is supplied by NBNCo - on that particular technology, they like to call it a "connection box", although you'll see it referred to as an NCD in more technical documentation.
The customer need only supply a router.
You may have meant FTTB, which is basically a mini-Node per building and requires a VDSL modem like FTTN.
Thanks for the correction.
I meant to write FTTC, but I think I had that mixed up with FTTB. Urgh, NBN is a travesty.
It depends on the NBN technology. There are modem routers which have the router function.
Don't we have single universal modem?
All modems start off life as universal (with the exception of VLAN tagging which many modems don't support), then the service providers lock down the firmware so you cannot change the pre-configured settings. They do this for ease of technical support. Basic level tech support consists of scripted diagnostic actions and this does not work with variable end-user hardware.
Some service providers welcome BYO modems but most will not provide support when you run into trouble. And some providers keep the configuration settings secret to stop you from using a modem not supplied by them.
modems start off life as universal
Not when the physical layer is different. FTTP modem, VDSL modem, HFC modem, ADSL modem - none of these can be interchanged with each other, and it's not because of firmware.
The title of this post is "Do I Need to Buy a New Modem Every Time I Change My Internet Providers?" Since nbn supplies modems for FTTP, FTTC & HFC and these cannot be purchased by end users, so OP is obviously referring to ADSL & VDSL modems which connect with a telephone cable. I cannot think of a contemporary DSL modem+router that will not auto detect and switch between ADSL & VDSL. Can you give us an example?
First sentence after title says "I have changed houses 3 times" though so I don't think it's fair to assume every house they moved to is xDSL.
I haven't bought an ADSL modem for a long time, but I don't think the old one in my cupboard supports VDSL ;)
I'm still on non-NBN HFC, and hence I don't know the details of modem supply in NBN land.
To add to the mix, there is likely confusion from OP regarding whether their boxes are a modem, router, or both.
I have changed houses 3 times and bought a new modem for every Internet service provider. So overall I bought 3 modems.
So I think it is fair to assume every house OP moved to is xDSL.
The modem is what translates the signal, so you will need a new modem if you change technologies e.g. if you went from ADSL2+, then cable, then NBN. If you have a separate router then it can work with any modem as it just connects via Ethernet cable.
Like most things in life the answer is it depends. Mostly it depends on the NBN technology your using and the ISP. FTTP, FTTC, & HFC all use supplied NBN CPE devices that have ethernet hand off so you just connect your router to these via a standard LAN cable and as long as your ISP doesn't require a VLAN tag then any router should be fine. If using FTTN you will need a VDSL modem which is typically builtin to the router too but you can use the ISP supplied modem router and put it in bridged mode and use you own router if you like. If you want to use the ISP's phone line option some ISP won't/can't share those SIP details with you so you need to use their modem router.
Personally I hate the ISP supplied modem routers because they are typically cheap garbage devices that are locked down to hell, have poor Wi-Fi, buggy firmware that never gets fixed & not very stable. If you've got FTTN then put the router in to bridge mode and use your own third party router. I like to use pfSense firewall and separate wireless access points from Ubquiti. These are stable, get updated and have a lot more options than a crappy ISP supplied router.
No, you don't need to change routers. Are you sure it's a router, not a modem?