I wonder what is different with Sky fibre phone lines from BT Openreach based phone lines and green cabinets?

There is no difference, Sky runs over Openreach lines as do all other ISPs other than Virgin Media. The difference, as was stated earlier in this thread, is that Sky choose to use DHCP Option 61/MER for authentication.

I have sky Q and it has its own mesh WiFi system. The main box acts as a repeater where the mini boxes connect wirelessly to it. Maybe this has something to do with it maybe not but I had some trouble connecting the mini box to the q main box wirelessly in the end I just connected them over Ethernet. The complicated hoops that you have to jump through to get it working with standard equipment show a bit of disregard for standards on sky�s part imo. If you have sky�s equipment they like you to use sky�s internet.

Although people commonly refer to Sky's slightly eclectic authentication system as "MER" (because that's the word Sky used within their router interface), it is actually no different to plain old RFC 2684 (IPoEoATM), which every router supports.

The only difference is the requirement to send DHCP client option 61, and the use of the phrase "MER" with no further clarification does not convey this information.

Thankyou all for your comments.

Regards,

Adam

Hi all. Sorry to resurrect this old thread but it seemed relevant from my Google search.

I have Now broadband currently set up using the Now router with WiFi turned off and my Apple Time Capsule as an access point. I also have a TP-Link TD-W9960. I was wondering if I could set up the TP-Link in modem mode and use the Time Capsule as the full wireless router? Is this likely to boost my speed a little?

If this is possible and worthwhile I would appreciate any set up tips.

In reply to a post by nashmills01:

Hi all. Sorry to resurrect this old thread but it seemed relevant from my Google search.

I have Now broadband currently set up using the Now router with WiFi turned off and my Apple Time Capsule as an access point. I also have a TP-Link TD-W9960. I was wondering if I could set up the TP-Link in modem mode and use the Time Capsule as the full wireless router? Is this likely to boost my speed a little?

It's very unlikely to make any noticeable difference. If there were, it would be to do with the VDSL modem chipsets in the Now box versus the TP-Link.

Having one box act as modem/router and one or more separate boxes as wifi access point(s) is a good way to configure your network, and I wouldn't mess with it.

Therefore if you were going to change, I'd suggest you configure the TP-Link TD-W9960 as router, so it's a straight swap-out for the Now broadband router.

However, the TD-W9960 is a very old box - it has only 100M LAN ports and 802.11n (= Wifi 4). I expect it would be sufficient for FTTC, but very unlikely to perform better than the more modern Now router.

Thank you @candlerb I'll leave well alone then.