Recently I moved into a flat in Los Angeles where I be, well, for a while. The network is supplied by Time Warner Cable, a company that has reportedly some of the worst customer service in the industry. Hopefully their acquisition by Charter will change that.
Here are three examples. The landlord upgraded to the 300 meg service, something that not everyone usually signs up for. Time Warner had been under delivering to the landlord, so a quick call with him before I moved in revealed that the cable modem was one of the older types that wasn't capable of speeds faster than 50 megs. Score one for TimeWarner Cable. Charge for service that can't be received.
Yesterday, with the "new" Time Warner supplied Arris Cable Modem I was trying to make VoIP calls using Switch and OnSip and found myself challenged. Some calls on some iOS devices with Bria and OnSip would work. Others wouldn't until I played with ICE, STUN and Turn settings. Switch and Bria would only work on the Mac with a VPN. The testing revealed something was blocking the network, and thanks TR Missner, a long time friend and the Chief Network Architect at Switch I was able to quickly ask Time Warner Support to turn off the firewall, give me access to the back end of the Cable Modem and voila, no more blocking of SIP signaling and media with the Firewall turned off.
Today, I solved the third problem. Speed. Using the Arris Wi-Fi the best speeds I could get over Wi-Fi using 802.11n was 100 megs. I added my own Apple Time Capsule (latest model) which offers 802.11 ac and here's my speeds now.
The funny thing is the rule of thumb that TWC is telling customers is that if they want to get their full speeds they need to be hard wired. The reality is they are providing equipment that doesn't have the capability to deliver the Wi-Fi speeds, yet my Apple Time Capsule does the job.
Here's the rationale. Just as when I was younger I never bought an all in one stereo system, preferring components instead, the same applies to Internet connectivity. By using the cable modem as just that, and as a router, but my own Wi-Fi gear I'm taking advantage of the gigabit capabilities of the router, Time Warners super fast network to the premise and getting what's being paid for, all without the overhang of the carrier imposed restrictions.
It feels good to be home, as this was the same setup I had in San Diego...
L.A. Now it feels like home.
Marc,
Thanks, but all it takes is a phone call, and asking TWC to do the unblocking, as well as getting access to the cable modem. Once that is done, you have full control of the modem.
Posted by: Andy Abramson | January 05, 2016 at 01:22 AM
Hi, Andy:
Buy the SB6183 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MA5U1FW?keywords=sb6183&qid=1445107916&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1) and put that in front of the Time Capsule.
There will be NO ports blocked, etc., and the Time Capsule will work well. You will the actual speeds delivered and your VoIP accounts will work.
marc
Posted by: twitter.com/marca56 | October 17, 2015 at 11:54 AM