Linksys EA6900 Router - Modem Question

[#1]

I'm looking at improving my home wifi by moving up to to the ac spec.  The Linksys EA6900 looks good and I've had good experience with Linksys products in the past so I was all set to go for this.
Then I noticed on one of the images on the box in an ad that it says:
"ISP with no wireless router"
and then lists TalkTalk, PlusNet and O2.  (Image attached - I'm not sure how to insert it into this post)   
I don't really understand what that means.
I've read that some of these newer routers definitely have a modem built in and so can be plugged straight into my incoming BT copper phone line box.  (The BT box is one of those ADSL ones that doesn't need the separate micro-filter).  But that statement on the packaging now has me totally confused!
So my question is:  Will this Linksys EA6900 connect straight to the BT line or will I have to buy a separate modem too?  Or will the Plusnet provided Technicolor box work as a modem and I somehow connect those two - EA6900->Technicolor->Phone Line Box?
Thanks for any help or advice.

[#2]

this is purely a router - it does not have a modem component.  So you would need to have a modem connected to your line and then this router connected to that.
I think you can set the Technicolor to work in bridge mode but I believe you need to telnet in to do that?  Others here may know more.

[#3]

Thanks for the confirmation.
Anyone have a recommendation for which modem to buy - or any to avoid?

[#4]

There's a thread here which tells you how to put the Technicolor in bridge mode.  It's not for the faint hearted but by all accounts it's a good modem once it's done.
If you're set on getting another modem then you don't need one with many bells and whistles - the router does all the hard stuff.  If you live far from the exchange then the recommendation is to go for one with a broadcom chipset, but otherwise you don't need to spend a lot of money

[#5]

Depends what you mean by bells and whistles - you usefully need something which discloses the full adsl line error stats.  The TG582n is good at that (in normal mode - I have no idea about bridged mode) whereas net gears are darned awful in that department.

[#6]

My Netgear gives me stats, but I admit it's a ball-ache to access them once in modem-only mode.  But there again I've not had real call to access them yet, either.
But my Netgear does hold a connection much, much better than the PN supplied router did.  When I joined and first used the TG582N, I was dropping sync several times a day.  When I caved in and went back to my old Netgear DG834PN - which I bought back in 1995! - I would go months without dropping a connection and it was better for me to use that, even though it was only b/g capable, than use the TG582N.  I haven't monitored the connection itself much since I bought my ASUS router (which like the OP's has no modem, so I used the Netgear for that), but I'm assuming that the Netgear wouldn't suddenly take a turn for the worse in that department once set in bridge mode.

[#7]

The TG582n with the 10.2.2.B firmware is a sight more stable than the earlier 8.x.x.x firmware. I have now been connected for 220 days at 3dB on a 50dB line.  Previously 20 days was an exception.

[#8]

agreed - the bit swapping is vastly improved

[#9]

that's good to hear.  Has it also become easier to put in bridge mode with the latest firmware or is it still a case of using telnet?  If the former it would seem a no-brainer for the OP to use it!