New vdsl Modem

[#1]

Quote

Got a bit spooked by 'rtho782' comments about the vectoring issue, something to worry about ?

There's going to be lot's more different VDSL modem routers being used very soon, BT are rolling out self-install from the end of this month. Knowing that vectoring is on the horizon one would assume that manufacturers such as tp-link will take this into account with new products and that they may well be firmware upgradeable to support vectoring. The chipset in the 9980 is a Lantiq one according to kitz's review and AFAIK they have been active in the vectoring area for a couple of years. It's probably based on this chipset http://www.lantiq.com/digital-home/dsl-gateways/vdsl2-wifi-router/mid-range-vdsl2-router/ since thats' the lantiq one that seems to support dual band wifi. Maybe kitz can give some more info on the actual chipset and it's likely support possibilities for vectoring.

[#2]

Hi MisterW,
Sorry for more dumb questions, what's the connection between BT rolling out self-install modem/routers & more people using their own kit ?
If BT roll out self install does this mean no more engineer turning up & fitting new BT faceplates ?
I wonder what Plusnet will do in the future regarding the above ?
Plusnet do seem to be a bit behind the competition when it comes to the hardware they provide, well it's routers are a bit naff.
Cheers,

[#3]

Yes, self install means no engineer visit to the house. They will just visit the cabinet and make the connection. That means no new faceplate and  that either the ISP or the end user will supply the modem/router.

[#4]

My understanding is that some of the older faceplates will still need to be changed by an engineer.

[#5]

Updated: I have managed to get Broadband Quality Monitor as it now response icmp!
Do the follow setting:
1) log on 192.168.1.1 and enter your username and password to log in
2) on the left side panel, go to system tools
3) on the system tools, click manage control
4) tick the box Enable on the remote management with port 80 and tick the box ICMP(ping) Remote and click save!

[#6]

Quote from: MisterW

It's probably based on this chipset http://www.lantiq.com/digital-home/dsl-gateways/vdsl2-wifi-router/mid-range-vdsl2-router/ since thats' the lantiq one that seems to support dual band wifi.

I think The TP-Link TD-W9980 (and the 8970 and 8980), and the BT Home Hub 5, all use the VRX268 chip. Doesn't actually mention vectoring on the entry level router page, although a whitepaper and the general vectoring page suggests they might do vectoring after a firmware update.

[#7]

Here is screenshot of VDSL Status & firmware below: (I wish TP Link add INP, CRC, HEC, ES, and FEC)

[#8]

@ ejs as for vectoring vdsl2 (it won't be available to us all from BT for a long while probably not until 2016)

[#9]

Addition photos of new VDSL Router

[#10]

Quote from: MisterW

Quote Got a bit spooked by 'rtho782' comments about the vectoring issue, something to worry about ? There's going to be lot's more different VDSL modem routers being used very soon, BT are rolling out self-install from the end of this month. Knowing that vectoring is on the horizon one would assume that manufacturers such as tp-link will take this into account with new products and that they may well be firmware upgradeable to support vectoring. The chipset in the 9980 is a Lantiq one according to kitz's review and AFAIK they have been active in the vectoring area for a couple of years. It's probably based on this chipset http://www.lantiq.com/digital-home/dsl-gateways/vdsl2-wifi-router/mid-range-vdsl2-router/ since thats' the lantiq one that seems to support dual band wifi. Maybe kitz can give some more info on the actual chipset and it's likely support possibilities for vectoring.

You're right, there are lots more modems about now BT are allowing wires only, the Sky Hub, the HomeHub5, the Talktalk Superrouter, etc.
Thing is, BT Openreach specify that these ISP provided routers have to support vectoring, and if they don't they can force the ISPs to replace them. A router you buy yourself isn't quite the same.

[#11]

The Openreach modem bank testing/specification is also open to hardware manufacturers - I think I read somewhere that D-Link and FRITZ!Box had tested their equipment there.

[#12]

The 140819 firmware for the TD-W9980 looks like it contains vectoring related things that weren't in the 140613 firmware.
140613 xDSL firmware blob: xcpe_548006_545511.bin 797KB
140819 xDSL firmware blob: xcpe_574306_571801.bin 902KB
The dsl_cpe_control program within the 140819 also appears to have had vectoring related additions which it calls dsm "(D)igital (S)pectrum (M)anagement (vectoring)". Can't really confirm anything since there's no access to the shell to actually run that program yourself.
There may be a lot of different modems/routers, but there are fewer chipsets that they are based on. So devices based on the VRX268 chip will all have fairly similar VDSL features, if the VDSL software components within the firmware receive the same updates.

[#13]

The TP-Link W9980 VDSL Router is superb as thinkbroadband Broadband Quality Monitor was showing excellent quality as the ping is very low too. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/share/e25b09a2afe76bdc9ff6372a1923e701.html
Happy with it overall. As for vectoring my firmware is 140819 but I cannot see any INP, CRC, HEC, ES, and FEC errors, so it difficult to tell.

[#14]

That seems to be an issue with TP-Link routers, they don't satisfy the stats addict needs.

[#15]

Quote from: goldenfibre

The TP-Link W9980 VDSL Router is superb as thinkbroadband Broadband Quality Monitor was showing excellent quality as the ping is very low too. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/share/e25b09a2afe76bdc9ff6372a1923e701.html

I dont like double posting, but feel that I strongly feel that I had to comment on this here too.
I fear that you may be classing the router as 'superb', simply because your latency has dropped and I dont want people getting a false impression that their latency is going to magically drop if they purchase this router.  
IMHO theres far more to judging a router than looking at what's happened to a TBB graph - when its known that over the past 3 nights, BT have been under-taking some pretty major changes at the RAS and re-organising switching circuits which could affect routing.

Quote from: kitz

I cant see how your router could affect latency by that much - thats more to do with your routing, and traffic between the exchange and packet destination...  and of course your ISP's gateway.  You can check latency by doing a tracert. That said I too have got brilliant routing (and my best ever) atm. C:\Users\kitz>tracert www.kitz.co.uk Tracing route to kitz.co.uk [185.24.98.37]over a maximum of 30 hops:  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  192.168.1.1  2    11 ms    11 ms    11 ms  lo0.12.central12.ptw-bng01.plus.net [195.166.128.172]  3    11 ms    11 ms    10 ms  irb.12.ptw-cr02.plus.net [84.93.249.34]  4    12 ms    12 ms    12 ms  195.66.237.228  5    12 ms    13 ms    13 ms  switch-004.sl5.misp.co.uk [91.198.165.76]  6    12 ms    12 ms    12 ms  kitz.servers.eqx.misp.co.uk [185.24.98.37] Trace complete. This has only happened in the past few days. I certainly didnt notice it before and Ive been testing the TD-W9980 on and off for a few months now.  Routing via ptw-bng01 seems pretty good, and also implies something has happened on the backhaul between my exchange/Preston/Manchester/London. I therefore wonder if its anything to do with this

I cant stress enough that my latency only shot down over the past few days... and Ive been using the same F/W version for 2 weeks, so its unlikely to be the router.