Of FiOS, Wifi and wireless....

[terrie]

My condo complex is being wired for FiOS--for those of you outside the US, FiOS is Verizon's (major telecommunications company/phone company) fiber optic system for phone, tv and internet broadband.

I think that in addition to getting FiOS tv and internet broadband, I would also get a FiOS phone system but I'm confused about the phone system and before I can ask my question(s), I need to give you some background...

1. I currently have 2 landline phone lines--L1 and L2. L1 is my primary line and I had L2 installed when I got my first modem many, many moons ago. If I were to sign up for a FiOS-based phone system, I don't want to continue paying for 2 phone landlines--I might continue to pay for one landline for my modem but that's a separate issue.

2. I have both L1 and L2 jacks in my office/den where I have my pc. L2 is my DSL line and using a DSL filter I have my modem plugged into that line--I use my modem for sending/receiving faxes.

3. My living room only has the L1 jack.

4. Due to my hearing loss, I use a special telephone called a CapTel (captioned telephone) and the phone is in my living room. I cannot use my current CapTel phone with FiOS.

5. There is a new CapTel phone available which will work with FiOS but it requires broadband access to work--in addition to whatever sort of phone system one has--and it requires a physical connection (via ethernet cable) to a router.

6. I want to use this new CapTel phone in my living room.

7. From the research I have done on FiOS phone systems, it is my understanding that I will continue to use the phone jack(s) I have now but instead of data being transmitted via landline copper wire, the fiber optic cable (magically) replaces the copper wire and Verizon provides some sort of router.

8. I think what I would need in the living room is a wifi router but as much as I know about computer systems, this is an area that basically gives me a headache when I try to wrap my mind around it.

9. I think that the wifi router in the living room would communicate with the router in my office/den--not sure if the den router would also need to be wifi.


What do I need to get to use the new CapTel phone in my living room?

Thanks...

Terrie

[BobRoosth]

Yes, FIOS provides a wireless router. You might be better off with a pair of homeplug adapters. The link is a buy.com search the shows several options. I find this more reliable than wireless for non-laptop purposes, for example my TiVo.

I don't know how they would wire a condo complex. In a single residence, there is a FIOS terminal box that converts the fiber signals into Ethernet and voice, forwarding the Ethernet to the router and the voice to normal phones. They generally have to get a cat-5 cable from that box to the router, a cable that is generally new.

[terrie]

bobroosth: You might be better off with a pair of homeplug adapters.

Thanks so much for the link however, as I mentioned, this stuff gives me a headache and I have a very hard time wrapping my mind around how this works--it's like my brain goes dead...'-}}


>> I don't know how they would wire a condo complex.

I am clueless too. I have no idea if this is accurate but I thought that there would be a something (router??? cable box of some sort???) in my offfice/den where my pc is to supply my broadband access and that what I would need is some other something that would "extend" the broadband connection to my living room where my special phone would be and that other something needs an ethernet port that I can plug the phone into.

Is that in any way accurate?

I'm not sure if I understand how the adapters are used:

1. If I'm understanding what I'm looking at from the link you gave, the adapters use the existing wiring in one's home to extend the network wherever one might want.

2. There appear to be 2 parts to these adapters. I would have one in my office/den plugged (ethernet cabled???) into whatever sort of FiOS broadband box I'm given by Verizon and the other would be in my living room and I would plug the ethernet cable from my special phone into this 2nd box.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Thanks!

Terrie

[ktinkel]

I am in over my head, way over. But I will share a few of my slow-blooming discoveries about wi-fi (in my case an Airport router).

Nor do I have FIOS, which is merely the source of many advertisements featuring a cute couple of guys as far as we are concerned (not available here but big in NYC where we get our TV).

But …

My cable service supplies a router-like box which supplies my Airport (wi-fi). I also have a switch (not a router) that draws from the Airport. My desktop equipment (two computers) are plugged into that switch; so was my printer, until it stopped printing and I plugged it into the back of my iMac. It should work, but I haven’t figured it out.

The Airport is my local wi-fi network, and because of that I can use a laptop in other rooms, and so can my guests. It is password-protected, so even though some of my neighbors can see my little wi-fi network (as I see theirs), they cannot use it. When we have guests I provide the password so they can use it.

Except that my house is too weird (or my Airport too weak) that I cannot use computers upstairs in the bedroom, this is a seamless no-nonsense system.

What I don’t know (but others here must) is how FIOS provides its signal. If they give you a box like mine, then you should be able to work it out.

That is as close to advice on networking that I can give, but I do know that if I can do it, you certainly can.

[terrie]

kt: That is as close to advice on networking that I can give, but I do know that if I can do it, you certainly can.

Thanks...that was helpful...I wonder if you got the powerline adapters if you would be able to use your computers upstairs?

The tricky bit for me is that our wall studs are not wood but metal and they muck up cell phone reception something terrible--it's difficult if not impossible to get a cell phone signal inside or at least that has been the case for any repair person who comes in and tries to make a call--so I'm not sure what these metal studs would do if/when I try and extend the broadband signal to my living room.

I need to check Verizon's FiOS website to see if I can get some answers there...

Terrie

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by terrie

Thanks...that was helpful...I wonder if you got the powerline adapters if you would be able to use your computers upstairs?

I only heard of that recently, from Bob — am thinking of it. I had decided that I really don’t need to use the computer while I sleep, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea that it doesn’t work there.

I can also get an antenna for the Airport (or upgrade it).

The tricky bit for me is that our wall studs are not wood but metal and they muck up cell phone reception something terrible--it's difficult if not impossible to get a cell phone signal inside or at least that has been the case for any repair person who comes in and tries to make a call--so I'm not sure what these metal studs would do if/when I try and extend the broadband signal to my living room.

Dunno, but they should be able to say. We have walls of mirrors upstairs, and I understand that that too can interfere with wi-fi signals.

I need to check Verizon's FiOS website to see if I can get some answers there...

Good luck with it. You cannot be unique — someone will know how to fix this.

There are also those portable wi-fi thingies they the ISPs are providing now. I haven’t got one, but see that Optimum Online says they do have them.

[terrie]

kt: Except that my house is too weird (or my Airport too weak) that I cannot use computers upstairs in the bedroom, this is a seamless no-nonsense system.

I just thought I'd report that I have ordered the Actiontec HLE0850-01K (85mbps Ethernet Adapter Twin Pack) from amazon.com which sells the set for $59.99 (vs. buy.com $78.35--free shipping) just in case you wanted to try this approach...

I had posted in the Verizon DSL forum at dslreports.com asking about how to configure my DSL router to bridge mode so that I could set up a Linksys router I have and I happened to mention that the reason that I wanted to do that was because I needed an extra port--the DSL router only has 1 port--and someone mentioned that really all I needed was an ethernet switch which I never knew existed. I found one at newegg.com for $9.99 (plus $1.99 for shipping) and I've ordered that also.

All this is precipitated not by FiOS being imminent (which it is) but by the fact that I ordered my new special phone which requires broadband access to work.

Soooo...if the ethernet switch box works and the powerline adaptors work, I will be able to use new phone in the living room.

I hope to know by the end of this coming week--I think everything should be delivered by then...

Terrie

[ktinkel]

That sounds like the gismo we were talking about earlier. Looks like an idea.

I may need to run my laptop in the bedroom — the NYC NPR station has cut out all music programming altogether (actually, they acquired the venerable WQXR and will run that as a music-only station; only I can’t get the signal — it takes a powerful signal for us to pick up NYC).

So I figured I would set up to listen to that or a similar station from the web.

Have to figure it out, so it won’t be instantaneous. Thanks for the link.

[terrie]

kt:That sounds like the gismo we were talking about earlier. Looks like an idea.

It is...it's the least expensive set of 2 I found and everyone said it was really easy to install...


>>I may need to run my laptop in the bedroom

I'll report back when I get it set up...I figure if it works with all of the metal studs in my condo walls, then it should work for you...

Terrie

[ktinkel]

Good — thanks. I will let you be the guinea pig! <g>