Alternative FTTC-compliant routers

[#1]

My FTTC installation was completed recently & I'm happy with the performance but am keen to replace the Netgear router supplied (one reason is to get a 5GHz WLAN again)... can forum members please post details of wireless routers (esp dual band) that have been tested & shown to work with FTTC...?
Thanks...

[#2]

Hi, I can't tell you of any I've tried and know to work, but anything that supports PPPoE should work.  Most of these as sold in PCWorld etc, would be marketed as "Cable Routers", eg. for use with Virgin.
There seem to be a good many to chose from depending on your price point.... eg. Linksys/Cisco E3000 at £100. 

[#3]

Cheers... so there's nothing "special" about a router compatible with VDSL... it's basically a cable-compliant router (look for PPoE support) and has an RJ45 WAN port to hook to the modem...?
Any recommendations? I am looking for simultaneous dual-band, gigabit ethernet ports, reliable, good wireless performance... let's assume cost not an issue for now...!

[#4]

this country uses ppoa, not ppoe, so why would the latter be of any use with fibre?

[#5]

ppoe is also used on adsl and adsl2/2e. Any bridge connection will use ppoe.

[#6]

Quote

this country uses ppoa, not ppoe

It's not a geographical thing as some people believe, it depends on the exchange equipment. Some exchanges will even support ppoe on ADSL1
I'll keep watching this thread with interest.

[#7]

Quote from: artificer

this country uses ppoa, not ppoe, so why would the latter be of any use with fibre?

My understanding of this is that PPPoE,  ie. PPPoEthernet  is needed to send the login details across to the modem which then dials out with them.
So this is used anytime the router initiating the connection doesn't have a modem internally, I use this both at home and work, where a Sonicwall firewall with no internal modem causes, in my case a Draytek modem to connect to ADSL.
So PPPoA or PPPoATM is the think used by the modem itself when it wants to authenticate with the ISPs RAS  or equiv servers. 
So where FTTC is using a standalone modem, my understanding is that PPPoE will be needed by the Router to pass the login details to the modem.  The modem can then use PPPoA if it requires, but as the router isn't connected directly to the line.
I agree with what Adam said, and believe it's not geographic, and indeed I use both PPPoE and PPPoA in various ADSL scenarios.

[#8]

WNDR3700 ?
its great but it costs around £120

[#9]

So... have decided to try the new Linksys E4200 dual band router. The price at a range of sites (Amazon, dabs, broadbandbuyer etc) seemed to vary a lot. I nearly ordered from Amazon at £169 (ouch!) but then it came down to £128 (uh?) but before I could order it was up to £139 (& out of stock...) but at broadbandbuyer it then dropped to £128 and in stock so they got my order.
If others are interested I will post my experiences once it's in & running.

[#10]

I have tried using a Billion BiPac 7800n that i had before i had the FTTC conversion.  Took a bit to get it working but seems to be running fine now. 

[#11]

Is there anythin with the modem and router built in like ADSL2 or are you stuck with having to have separates?

[#12]

The latest BT homehub http://www.shop.bt.com/products/bt-home-hub-3-0---infinity-welcome-pack-7CLR.html

[#13]

Not sure that is the case - although it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong 
Red BT Infinity socket looks very much like an RJ45 i.e Ethernet - so would probably connect to the VDSL "modem" supplied as part of the FTTC install.

[#14]

Quote

The latest BT homehub

I'd err on the side of caution there as these are locked to BT by default (i.e it won't let you use it with any other ISP) There are ways around this but it can be a hassle from what I've come to understand.
I think a support library article with a list of FTTC friendly routers could be a good call....

[#15]

Spent quite some time trying to get a Linksys WRT54GS running DD-WRT logged on and now believe that this is NOT going to work. As far as I can see the PlusNet FTTC service needs to use PPPoE with CHAP authentication and DD-WRT (at least the base version which works on the WRT54GS) only seems to support PAP. Not sure whether it's BT or PlusNet handling the authentication, and whether this can be altered to allow PAP. From various forum comments on the DD-WRT boards it looks pretty unlikely that CHAP will ever be supported on that firmware.
So if looking for a new Router be sure that the PPPoE implementaion supports CHAP authentication - be interested to hear any suggestions for the best option which supports:
* Wireless G/N with a decent radio (2.4GHz-only would be fine)
* Detachable / upgradeable / extendable MIMO antennas (need to site the router 2m away from the antennas) - this rules out current Linksys and Netgear models
* (Ideally) 4 x Gigabit LAN ports
* Good Firewall / IPSec VPN passthrough.
May wait a bit until IPv6 support becomes mainstream and buy then, but if there's a reasonably priced interim which works (eg TP-Link TL-WR1043ND??) I'd be tempted...
Suggestions welcome
Brgds
Phil