Please recommend a good wifi modem

Kashkai

Short background - my mother's broadband is completely unreliable due to very old wiring in the house (20+ years). In addition, the NTU in teh hallway is damaged from getting whacked by hoovers, kids etc. I rang perlico (my mother's ISP) and they told me that they'll have to send in a request to Eircom for a new NTU to be installed in my mother's house and that this could take up to 4 weeks!! So I've decided to replace the NTU myself (I've done this before and its no big deal).

Running a new cable upstairs will be the problem as the existing phone cable (that I discovered was frayed in several places - surprising it works at all) is mostly under carpets/wooden floors and I'm not going to the hassle of taking these up to run a new cable (my mother would freak if I left the new cable visible on top of skirting boards etc. (don't ask ). So I'm thinking about getting a wireless modem to plug into the new telephone port in the hallway and put the receiver upstairs beside her pc in the bedroom (directly above the telephone point in the hallway below - distance of about 10 feet maximum). Now I personally am not a fan of wifi as my previous experience of them is a lot of dropped signals/interference and thats why I had my whole house wired with CAT 5 cabling in all rooms so I would have hardwired internet access for my pc, laptop, PS3 etc. However wifi could be the solution for my mother as the signal wouldn't have too far to travel and it'll solve the problem of running a new cable. So are there any recommendations for a good wifi modem that won't cost the earth (as I'm buying it!) and where to buy, PC World, Maplins etc. Thanks

jor el

Homeplugs are a better solution than wireless for where the distance is large, or the Wifi router is poor. Far better than Wifi, IMO, especially if the broadband speed is fast.

Linksys routers are always recommended, though I'm not sure if you can get one with a built in DSL modem.

On replacing the BTU, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to touch that, as it's eircom's property, and may even be illegal to change it yourself. They may not care, but just so you're aware.

dub45

This question is asked with monotonous regularity on here and I keep pointing out the same monotonous regularity:rolleyes: that it is impossible to say how wireless equipment is likely to respond in any particular situation as every location is different.

You can find lots of user reviews on www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk.

watty

And some "homeplug" type equipment will interfere with DSL, some will destroy LW, MW & SW reception for a large distance outside the house, never mind in it.

Your success with Mains wiring based Networking will vary with size of house and route of wiring. A proper 2 pair CAT3 or 4 pair CAT5 cable will extend the phone socket with virtually no loss in a normal house and is normally invisible at edge of skirting.

What he says about WiFi. ^^^^^

The socket rarely is faulty as there is nothing to it. Decent DSL filters is usually more important.

none

I know that there can't be a universal solution or recommendation, but my experience with Netgear DG834G is only positive. For more than 3 years, I can't recall any issue in 3 different flats. At the moment I'm on Eircom and 10 metres and 3 walls away from the modem and Signal strength: Excellent.

Kashkai

I've used homeplugs before and agree that they were excellent - never had a single problem with speed or DSL signal. However, my mothers sockets are all on the skirting boards and and thus most homeplugs wouldn't be able to slot in her plugs as homeplugs are rectangular boxes with the pins for the plug at the top and the rest of the hardware below this and as so they are designed to be used in plugs that are at least 6 inches above the floor.

I have to replace the NTU as it is busted, i.e. the socket that holds the phone jack is broken and the slightest movement, i.e. someone brushing off it as they go upstairs will cause the phone jack to pop out of the NTU. As for Eircom coming out to replace it, they prioritise their own customers and the rest of us have to wait in line for a very long time to get our lines serviced (I know they're not supposed to do this - treat us all equally regardless of who our phone company is - but that is the reality in my experience).