Quality of BTInfinity router/modem

I keep being invited by BT to sign up for Infinity but so far I have refused. My main concern is the quality of the supplied router/modem.

I currently have a Netgear DG834G which is a few years old and might be responsible for disconnects as nothing wrong could be found with my line. I would prefer to buy my own gear but I understand this isn't possible with Infinity.

I run 4 PCs and one remains on 24/7 to upload weather data to various internet sites so reliable connectivity is very important to me.

Can Infinity users advise if they are satisfied with the quality of the Infinity r/m please?

You know it's two pieces of kit? - a VDSL modem (in fact an OpenReach badged Huawei Echolife HG612) and a separate BT Home Hub.

Can't speak for the Home Hub but the modem's been fine for me since April and the only downtime caused by local power cuts (must get a UPS!) , there have been reports of problems and I suspect it's not as reliable as OpenReach would like but I suspect it's not all that much in %age terms.

There's a new version now, anyway, which will hopefully be more reliable.

Its a 2 box setup. An Openreach VDSL modem , and specifically for BT Infinity, a Home Hub 3. AFAIK the HH3 is a reliable piece of kit, but there have been issues with some of the Huawei VDSL modems. There is a new version out which may prove to be more reliale. Time will tell. Not heard any bad reports on the ECI version, probably due to the relativeley small number of ECI equipped areas.
There is no reason why you could not use an alternative router in place of the HH3. Would need to a cable type router not an ADSL router, capable of PPPoE

Thank you gents. I wasn't aware it comprises 2 bits of kit. That makes it far less appealing. I really want a one-box solution and preferably kit I choose and buy myself. Call me old fashioned but I just don't believe in free lunches.

So is it not possible to connect to Infinity with your own modem - integrated or separate?

There are a couple or more VDSL routers, think there's a Billion and Draytek. Search the Fibre section for specific models. Quite pricey though.

And it is out-with the Ts&Cs of FTTC to use them (although some have successfully done so - see threads passim in the Fibre Broadband forum)

It is possible to get combined VDSL2 modem/routers like your Netgear but the standards don't seem to be fully defined, so the three or four that have been tried by people on these forums all have issues of various levels of importance. The current flavour seems to be a Fritz box, so search these forums for "Fritz".

If you do have any line problems Openreach would expect their supplied modem to be in use. They do not support anything else being the modem component.

Are you aware that Infinity is just BT Retail's name for the FTTC product they sell, which is based on the BT Wholesale product, based on Openreach (GEA) FTTC.

Many other ISPs sell their own products based on the BT Wholesale one, just like they do on ADSLx, and of the LLU suppliers TalkTalk sell their own product avoiding the BT Wholesale one but still using the Openreach GEA. The Infinity Home Hub is only with BT Retail FTTC of course. WIth other ISPs you have to buy a cable router off the ISP or provide your own.

In all cases the Openreach modem is the standard kit.

For more info read my FTTx page, and the suppliers page below it. That has a link to a spreadsheet by orly and yarwell with a summary of details of the products available.

Ribble, thanks for the info. Take your point about price.

Mr Bean, Sadly it looks like I would breach the warranty if I go with independent kit.

Roberto, it looks like BT don't want you to use other kit, only their own. Infinity has been around for a couple of years now so it's disappointing the standards haven't been defined yet.

I really do prefer a single box solution but at the same time I don't want to tie myself to BT hardware-wise. I don't need the speed of Infinity and this post was an enquiry to see what had changed in the last year or so. It seems very little has.

Thank you for all your replies.

I have used a DG834GT and a DGN2000 over the past good few years, and i've found the Homehub3 to be equally as good on the wireless and had no issues so far... the quality of the VDSL modem and Homehub3 seem to be fine... Also not lost connection since i had Infinity insalled, 48day uptime so far..

I was a bit wary of using the Homehub3 after hearing bad reports bout previous models..

Edited by BuckleZ (Tue 30-Aug-11 19:30:20)

Thanks BuckleZ. Could you tell me how many ethernet connections the router has? I need a minimum of 3 - 2 PCs and a printer server. More would be better.