Zen Fibre and Cisco 1800 Routers

My exchange has been enabled for FTTC at long last, so I'm just mooching around to see what kit I need to get it working on my Cisco 1841s. I presume I can buy a HWIC-1VDSL, plug it straight into the new BT socket so as to bypass the BT provided PPPoE router? Do I really have to take that router if I order Zen Fibre?

TT

Hi,

The service isn't supported without the BT modem - so if you have problems you'll need to be connected through the BT modem in order to investigate them (and for the duration if a fault does occur).

Note - the BT device is just a modem, rather than a router, so if you use the ethernet WAN port of your router to connect (with the router handling PPPoE) you've essentially got the same effect as using a WIC without the expense, with the benefit of not having to swap kit out in the event of a fault - and using equipment BT know should work with their DSLAMs.

regards,
Phil.

HWIC-1VDSL is not supported in the 1841, so I wouldn't bother. Us the BT provided modem and your spare ethernet port (assuming you aren't using it already).

HWIC-1VDSL specification

The Cisco 887VA works perfectly nicely with BT's FTTC service via Zen. The throughput is definitely higher than using the supplied Huawei modem and ethernet router.