cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Hub One with VDSL modem

geoffd
Grafter
Posts: 32
Registered: ‎26-11-2010

Hub One with VDSL modem

I am looking to upgrade an ancient broadband installation belonging to a group that meets in a church hall. The telephone line used comes in at the opposite side of the building to the room where the group meet and there is a cat 5 cable running from the ADSL router to a switch in the meeting room which was fine when people were using wired connections. However, these days most people are connecting using wi-fi and this is currently using the ADSL router which is on the other side of the building.

I am suggesting that they switch to fibre but I would like to get the wi-fi access point into the meeting room. If the current fibre offering was like my own home configuration with a TG582n with a separate OpenReach Modem then I could put the modem with the phone socket and put the wireless router in the meeting room using the existing ethernet cable to connect the two. But I understand that the Hub One has a built in modem and connects directly to the phone socket. 

The question is: could I use a separate VDSL modem, such as a Netgear DM200, and put the Hub One in the meeting room using the ethernet cable or are there any other (cheaper/free) options?

12 REPLIES 12
DS
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 2,307
Thanks: 504
Fixes: 22
Registered: ‎06-01-2017

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

You could always disconnect the switch and replace it with a second hub.

A second hand BT hub 3,4 or 5 can be used - which ever router you use, it would need to be configured differently as this one will not work as there wouldn't be a phone line going to it. Using a hub in this was allows 3 ethernet devices and as many wifi devices to be connected.

There are many other options available and most would not need an upgrade to the broadband.

markhawkin
Pro
Posts: 552
Thanks: 121
Fixes: 11
Registered: ‎17-07-2016

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

Assuming there is nothing "clever" about the switch any cheap "Cable Router" should work on the incoming CAT5 cable as a replacement for the switch.

First suggestion on Amazon is the TP-LINK TL-WR841N.

 

I've no experience of this unit but I've been very impressed with other TP Link stuff in terms of value for money and generally being decent.

 

I am the satisfied customer....
geoffd
Grafter
Posts: 32
Registered: ‎26-11-2010

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

DS wrote:
There are many other options available and most would not need an upgrade to the broadband.

The upgrade to the broadband is needed as the current speed is a rather nostalgic 4Mbs and that is shared by up to 6 people.

Thanks for the other suggestions and I guess I could use an alternative wireless router such as a second hand BT Hub or a new TP-LINK. And maybe it is a safer option than speculating on a VDSL modem such as the Netgear DM200. I wouldn't be the one buying any extra equipment so I don't think that second hand off ebay would be acceptable and if I were to put in an alternative wireless router then I would prefer it to be dual band.

Maybe the safer route is to go with just the Hub One initially and see if the speed is acceptable. If not then have budget to purchase a dual band router such as the TP-LINK Archer C50.

DS
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 2,307
Thanks: 504
Fixes: 22
Registered: ‎06-01-2017

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

Use this link to show what the estimated speed will be at the church - http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

I'd also consider what these 6 people are using the internet for - general browsing (4Mbps should be fine) or lots of streaming (the faster the better)

If you do down the route of fibre connection using a Plusnet Hub One, at this current time some users are reporting this Hub causes their connection to drop when carrying out uploads Sad - no idea of an eta to get this fixed but Plusnet are currently working on it - @bobpullen

Regarding the 2nd hand route - some BNIB Hubs have sold for as little as £5, plus that's the reason I suggested this route ... to keep the costs down for the church.

The PN Hub One is dual band - it has 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz - if you do decide to go for this one (as it's free but costs £6.95 for P&P) pop back once the connection has gone live as the hub's wifi might need a tweak (split the wifi)

It should, unless it's been blocked, work with a modem (at one end of the church), connect to the existing cat5e and sit in place of the switch. I would personally put a router at each end as it's almost guaranteed to have wifi other the entire building.

Hubs can be purchased brand new, possibly via Plusnet, hopefully someone can confirm and provide a price for this.

Anoush
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 2,568
Thanks: 572
Fixes: 139
Registered: ‎22-08-2015

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

I believe a VDSL modem should work with the Hub One. When I first setup the Hub, I connected it to the my existing Openreach Modem using the LAN1/WAN ports, just out of interest to see if it worked and it did.

 

To purchase a Hub One through us, it would cost either £99.99 + P&P £6.99, or just the P&P as part of a contract*

 

*If you're within the first 3 months of the contract, or within the last 3 months you can always re-contract for one.

This is my personal Community Forum account to help out around these parts while I'm at home. If I'm posting from the 1st March 2020, this means I'm off-duty with no access to internal systems.
If this post resolved your issue, please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
geoffd
Grafter
Posts: 32
Registered: ‎26-11-2010

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

Thanks DS. I have checked the estimated speed and it is 2 - 6Mb so at 4.2Mb, when tested, it is in range. They are only using the connection for general browsing so I thought, prompted by your suggestions, that it might be worth seeing if I could improve what they currently have. I searched through my bits box and found I still had a Belkin Wireless ADSL modem and it appears that it can be configured as a wireless access point. So I now plan to look at putting that in the meeting room to see if that improves things sufficiently. It should, at least, make best use of the connection they already have.

Thanks Anoush for the feedback. If the Hub One works with an Openreach Modem then there is no reason to think it wouldn't work with any other VDSL modem. If we do need to go that way then they will be a new customer to Plusnet so the cost would be just the P&P.

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,572
Thanks: 5,408
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

I still had a Belkin Wireless ADSL modem and it appears that it can be configured as a wireless access point.

Just about any router/modem router can be configured as a wireless access point.

Just disable it's DHCP server and connect it via one of it's LAN ( not WAN ) ports to your existing router. It's now basically a network switch and wireless AP. If you wish to access it's GUI from your existing network then you need also to give it an IP address which is in the same subnet as your existing network, but out of the DHCP range of your existing router ( so that it can't clash with any DHCP allocated IP ).

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

DS
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 2,307
Thanks: 504
Fixes: 22
Registered: ‎06-01-2017

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

No problem Geoff Smiley

It's a shame that the speed estimates were not higher Sad - as you know there's nothing we can do - whether BT invest in the infrastructure serving the church in the future is something else.

As well as the comments from misterw regarding the router/modem, I'd also (depending on the make/model/the settings that can be changed) consider turning off the 'slave' routers firewall, wps, put it on another wifi channel, possibly give it another SSID 'Church_booster' and password - basically let the primary router (in the room with the phone socket do all the work and have the slave provide a wifi signal and some ethernet ports for wired devices.

Also you can turn the spare one off and on without it causing connection issues - also if it was given an easy to guess wifi password any churchyard lurkers wouldn't be able to sit out there all night nicking the connection (also the bill payer could be in trouble if anyone downloaded illegal content)

geoffd
Grafter
Posts: 32
Registered: ‎26-11-2010

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

Thanks all. It will be next week when I try it out and I will report back.

DS
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 2,307
Thanks: 504
Fixes: 22
Registered: ‎06-01-2017

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

No problem Smiley

It'll be interesting to hear how it goes.

geoffd
Grafter
Posts: 32
Registered: ‎26-11-2010

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

The old router was installed in the meeting room as an access point and connected to the switch. A wi-fi connection in that room now gets the full 4.3Mbs. They are going to try it for a few weeks and see if they are happy with it.

DS
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 2,307
Thanks: 504
Fixes: 22
Registered: ‎06-01-2017

Re: Hub One with VDSL modem

Good job Smiley