Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

The Wolf · May 15, 2005, 07:59 PM

I 'think' the answer is yes, but before I plop down $100 for Verizon's Westell Modem I thought I'd check here first. Thanks, T.

fulmer · May 15, 2005, 08:34 PM

with cable or dsl you will need a modem.

ghporter · May 15, 2005, 09:32 PM

Yes, you do. The AirPort devices are routers, but not modems. I have a Westell 516 that's served me well for several years-they're good products. When I signed up for DSL with SBC, they rebated me the cost of the modem...does Verizon do that for you?

The Wolf · May 15, 2005, 09:56 PM

Sorry guys if this was a silly question. I'm just confused b/c at my house all I have is an ABS which is all I need to connect to my building's cable connection (and my ABS also has a dial up "modem" which I thought might work). But thanks for the info.

Anyway, the modem is not free as I got a bill from Verizon for $100 for it!!! I called, and they said I had to pay. I checked amazon and they are as low as $30 there. I haven't checked ebay yet. It just seems silly to pay $100 for this thing (also, I think I still have a Roadrunner modem in one of my closets that was in my apartment when I moved in - maybe that'll work too). btw, I'm writing about a business account, so I am already peeved that I have to pay $10/month more than I would pay if I had this exact same service installed in my house - across the street from my office!

So, thanks again for the quick responses. Hopefully I can find that RR modem (which I am assuming will be compatible with Verizon as well) since it won't cost me anything.

Sosa · May 16, 2005, 10:42 AM

On a related point, can I buy a cable modem that comes with wireless access? I just installed a cable highspeed connection and of course they are charging me a rental fee for their modem. I want to buy my own, preferrably with wireless access. I've read up on the Airport Express and Extreme and they both require being attached to a modem. So any advice?

ghporter · May 16, 2005, 12:04 PM

Wolf, a cable modem won't work with DSL and a DSL modem won't work with cable; they're two separate technologies. But go with the $30 modem if Verizon will still connect you.

Sosa, I don't know of any cable modems that come with wireless-at this point I don't know of any that have any router capability at all. That doesn't mean that there aren't any, just that I haven't seen one or heard about one. Just about all the cable providers use the same standard for their system, so buying your own cable modem is a smart choice. You may, however, have to buy a separate modem and router to do what you want to.

Sosa · May 16, 2005, 03:22 PM

Thank you ghporter. I guess I'll just by my own cable modem, I've heard motorola has some nice ones although it costs $70, and then by Airport Express. That should do the trick but it going to cost me $200.

The Wolf · May 16, 2005, 06:05 PM

Thanks for the info. Verizon is supposed to install my dsl service tomorrow. I have read some horror stories about dsl but I'm hoping this installation will go smoothly. Unfortunatley, while verizon is activating it I still have to get a private vendor to run the line from the server/phone room to my office. Seems weird, but Verizon will only give me "tone" etc., to a specific area of the building. The rest is up to privarte vendors . . . and it already took 3 weeks just to get my phone working

tooki · May 16, 2005, 07:44 PM

They make cable modems with built-in wireless routers; there was the big fiasco about a year ago with Comcast and some RCA model, because people were buying it at a store themselves, and as soon as they powered it up, Comcast was uploading a new firmware to it, which set an open network and locked the user out of the configuration interface!

tooki