[SOLVED] ATT fiber question

emitfudd

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Apr 9, 2017
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ATT fiber is offering a better deal than my current bill with Spectrum. I would have to use their gateway. No idea what model number it is but it is advertised as a wifi 6 gateway. Modem/router combined in one unit. I added it to my cart on their website to see what was involved and it contained a self install kit. How does that work? Does fiber work through a coaxial cable? I think from what I have read so far that it requires an ethernet outlet, not coaxial. Anybody using ATT fiber and have input on this and the general performance of their gateway. I am perfectly happy with my Netgear CM1000 and Nighthawk router but Spectrum is jacking my price up to $99/mo for 400Mb which is ridiculous. ATT is offering 500Mb for $45 plus $10 for the gateway per month.
 
Solution
It is that simple now that you know where the fiber comes into the house. That green cable is not a wire it is a fiber. Although they use patch cords that are not as easily damaged it is still very fragile. You wrap it around your finger a couple times and it will crack it internally.

You can use wifi if you like. It all depends on what other cabling is in your house and where it all goes. If there is ethernet back to a central room you could just plug the att box to the ethernet port in the wall and it would take the network back to the central room. You can also stuff like moca if you have coax tv cables in multiple rooms.
ATT has a couple of gateways. The one that is wifi6 I think is the white one. That one also in theory can run 2.5g which ATT is testing in some areas. Have not seen anyone say if it really runs at 2.5g but you can easily get 900mbps up and down on the 1gbit plans.

You can not self install the gateway unless they already have installed fiber in your house. You generally would know if did it because they have to actually bury the fiber from the street to your house. They put in a fiber port on the wall you plug the gateway into that with a short fiber patch cable.

You have no option with ATT replacing their gateway. They have done this even on DSL where you technically could replace it. From what i have read people have found GPON gateways that would work on ATT but ATT is using 802.1x security with unique certificates that are inside the gateway. 802.1x run this way is almost impossible to bypass. In addition att is moving to XGS-PON which is how they get the 2.5g.

The very best you can hope for is ATT has some very strange pass through mode that will share the public IP with your router. People say it works but somehow their gateway and your actual router both have the public IP. It mostly runs like a modem when it is set to that mode but it is very messy to setup.

All that said once you get it all working a fiber to the house is the most stable and lowest latency option you can get.
 

emitfudd

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Apr 9, 2017
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You can not self install the gateway unless they already have installed fiber in your house. You generally would know if did it because they have to actually bury the fiber from the street to your house. They put in a fiber port on the wall you plug the gateway into that with a short fiber patch cable.
That's what I figured. This is why I hate ordering a service like this online. I will just call them and get the scoop on what's really involved with installation fees. Too bad because they try to suck you into ordering online with a $250 Visa card. Thanks for all the info.

Edit: I just found a box about the size of a brick with the ATT logo on it. It says alt/optic and has a cover that slides off with connection ports and a thick green wire plugged into one of the ports. I also just read an article that said if you are only offered the self install kit it means the residence has previously had fiber hooked up. The only problem is this box is located in the master bedroom and my computer is in another room so I would probably still need a technician to run a new wire to the correct room.

OR could I set the gateway in the bedroom and let my PC connect wirelessly?
 
Last edited:
It is that simple now that you know where the fiber comes into the house. That green cable is not a wire it is a fiber. Although they use patch cords that are not as easily damaged it is still very fragile. You wrap it around your finger a couple times and it will crack it internally.

You can use wifi if you like. It all depends on what other cabling is in your house and where it all goes. If there is ethernet back to a central room you could just plug the att box to the ethernet port in the wall and it would take the network back to the central room. You can also stuff like moca if you have coax tv cables in multiple rooms.
 
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