Getting Time Warner in an apartment

My girlfriend's moving into a new apartment, and she has to pay for utilities, which includes internet. She wants to go with Time Warner because everyone else in the complex uses it without error. However, in her last apartment, her boyfriend bought a 3rd party router and used Time Warner - now I see from the website that they include a router as part of the one time installation fee. Will they install a worthy router? Will it be 802.11n compatible?

What is actually involved in setting up a router? I had volunteered to do it [despite not ever having a router] because I'm good with my hands and computers and am a quick learner. The way the Time Warner website makes wireless internet out, it seems like something pros are going to have to handle and take a bite out of her pocket change and I can't help at all. SO what's involved in getting a router setup? 802.11n? Will they even be offering that service yet? Should she worry about getting a third party router instead?

Based on newegg.com reviews and routers, the biggest concern is compatibility and setting up the router to work seamlessly with the computer upon setup. Are there any other things I should keep in mind when I advice her??

 

I'm pretty sure that they are going to rent the router to her (It may also be a cable modem with a built in wireless router, like the SBG900).

I would ask questions about that, because if they are going to rent you supplies, it will cost you $3+ a month, in which case you are better off buying a modem on craigslist or eBay for $20-40 (Depending on how hard you look, I got my brother one for $15 including shipping, and I've bought two others recently for $20 and $30).

It's less money you spend monthly, and give to the company.

Same thing goes for digital cable boxes. Buy one on eBay.

 

This is a quote from the TimeWarnerCable website in regards to their router:

Q: What is the difference between Time Warner Cable's Wireless Roadrunner/Wireless Home Networking routers and others that can be bought at retail outlets?
A: We provide the wireless router as part of your service (no purchase necessary). Our technicians will install and configure the network for you for a small one-time installation charge and we provide 24 x 7 customer support. Moreover, our solution includes an advanced intelligent security firewall. Third party wireless routers are not supported by our technicians.
( source)

What is involved in the actual setup, do you know? DO we have to run wires through the room? Or what...

 

ALSO: what is the difference between a cable modem and a wireless router?

 

I'm not 100% sure on Time Warner policies, but I was a comcast contractor for a while (too long).

Our installation policies varied, but apartments were usually a "no holes" deal. Unless you get written permission from the apartment complex, you will get a coax cable across the floor, and if you do get permission, you'll have to pay more money for a special installer.

The difference between a cable modem and a router, is the modem itself is what is getting online, while the router just re-distributes the line through your place. Unless you get a SBG900 or similar modem, you will have two separate devices. I would opt for a two device system, just because you have more options for wireless. (Most cable co. provided equipment will be B/G only, where as you can get A/B/G/N through your own stuff.)

 

Unless you get a SBG900 or similar modem, you will have two separate devices. I would opt for a two device system, just because you have more options for wireless. (Most cable co. provided equipment will be B/G only, where as you can get A/B/G/N through your own stuff.)

So far so good.

What are the two devices now if we do not get the modem?

And the next logical question is: if the Cable Co. stuff is B/G only (as I assumed), do they even offer N protocol service yet? What would be the point if my girlfriend doesn't plan to steal WiFI and only use Time Warner's stuff? Just asking.

 

I have Roadrunner (which is a cutsey brand-name for what really is TimeWarner cable broadband) and I would suggest that your girlfriend just get the standard cable modem without wireless or a router. That way, you can (a) avoid the expensive, and unnecessary, setup fees - the fee they charge for that is a rip-off for everyone other than, perhaps, your grandmother if she were to get cable broadband on her own without anyone else's help, and (b) your girlfriend gets to pick a wireless router that fits her needs (and those of the rest of the household) instead of getting stuck with whatever TW is offering. Also, if the wireless router part goes bad, you'll be stuck without wireless service (and possibly without internet access at all if the unit is a single integrated unit) until TW can schedule a service visit, and the technician can find it within himself to drag his lazy butt to your girlfriend's apartment - during which time, she, or someone in the apartment, will have to take an entire day off of work (or school) just to wait for the laggard to show up - and about 50% of the time he won't, so you'll have to reschedule and waste another whole day). By contrast, if you go with just the bare cable modem, if the wireless router dies, you just waltz down to Bestbuy, Circuitcity (while they're still around), J&R, or whomever else you prefer, grab another router, and you're good to go.

Just in case you hadn't guessed by now, all I got from TW was the bare cable modem, and haven't had a lick of trouble with it.

 

I have had the most nightmarish customer service from Time Warner in the past.....which would take more time typing right now than I have to offer lol.....the less you have to deal with them/pay them....the better!

 

This SBG900 that Modly mentioned - is that a Linksys or what brand? And what is this two-device system she would need?

Did I mentioned that Wireless option is an absolute must? She uses a notebook and moves it a lot, so ethernet hardwiring isn't necessary.

 

The SBG900 is a Motorola. My best combo that I can recommend would be a Motorola 5100/5101/5120 modem (any one of the three are pretty good), and a Linksys or Buffalo router. But that's just me, and my opinions (I really like DD-WRT).

Which router in particular would depend on what her needs are. Is she going to use N? Does she need alot of coverage on multiple floors?

 

No, no. This is a small studio apartment. She doesn't need N (all she does is browse the internet and check mail, but she does it daily and would 'die' if she couldn't get online), but since I'm customizing a sweet computer for her, I figured I'd tell her to get something N compatible since it's supposed to be out soon - I just still don't see it anywhere yet and don't really know when it will become the norm. If you think G is going to remain a standard for the next few years, I guess worrying about G is all that she needs to do.

Does she need both the modem and the router? If the router just redistributes the signal, where is it originating from? This is where my confusion lies. She wants to do it without spending too much. I just need to verify the point of the modem in addition to the router. How does the internet get to the apartment complex to begin with?

 

So far on Craigslist I'm looking at:

http://rochester.craigslist.org/ele/944319113.html <-- For a router;

http://rochester.craigslist.org/sys/957555512.html <-- For a modem.

 

by the two system setup or whatever i assume he means both the modem and the router, thats what i have set up here and i have time warner. They install everything for you and then you just plug in your router and connect it to the modem with an ethernet cable and then configure the router.

 

If her computer will be the only one using the connection, and if she doesn't mind having the computer wired into the modem, then all she really needs is the cable modem itself - the modem has an ethernet port into which one end of an ethernet cable is plugged, and the other end of which is plugged into the computer's ethernet port.

If she wants the computer to be wireless, then you'll also need a wireless router, which is plugged into the cable modem instead of the computer being plugged into the cable modem. The computer's wireless card then connects with the wireless signal from the router, and gets onto the internet that way.

 

Okay so if I did my research properly last night, the Modem just grabs the loose signals from one of RoadRunner's towers, and then the router creates a local signal from the modem now and so her computer can hop on the signal from the router, as yes, she does have a wireless card.

So she does in fact need a modem and a router. What do you think of the ads I posted above?

 

Not really. The actual hardware setup is a bit complicated, as described in this wikipedia article, but basically, once the service is activated, one of the channels available across your cable connection via the coaxial wire the cable company installed, is used to connect the cable modem to a so-called cable-modem-termination-system that more or less acts as a router connecting the various coax feeds to it to a high-capacity internet connection. The cable modem itself more or less acts like a bridge that allows you to connect your computer to the feed coming down the coax cable, which essentially allows you to transparently connect to the high-capacity network connection installed on the other side of the cable-modem-termination-system to which your coax leads.

What you get coming out of the cable modem is a perfectly acceptable ethernet connection that can be directly plugged into the ethernet port on a computer. No router is needed for this connection. The only time you need a router is if you're going to have more than one machine connected to that internet connection at the same time. Further, if you want your computers to connect via a wireless card built into the computer, that router needs to be wireless. If you just have one system and want that system to be wireless, you could probably go with a wireless access point instead of a full-blown wireless router, although you might lose some of the hardware firewall protection that is incorporated into most wireless routers these days.