Hawaiiantel Fiber Internet gateway rental

[randomq]

Has anyone ordered Hawaiiantel fiber Internet without the gateway rental? Do they basically provide a CPE device with a gigabit ethernet port?

Does the CPE device provide PoE?

What are the power / adapter specs and real world draw?

Thanks.

[terracore]

They told me it was a "fee" not a "rental" and there was no way to "opt out" of the "requirement". I would love to hear if somebody else gets different results.

We have a mesh system for our wifi so not even using the "wireless gateway" for it's wireless function. Other than acting as a wired router the only function we're using on the Zytel is the USB hub- with a USB stick on there it's a convenient NAS / wireless storage device to move photos and videos off a smart phone.

[kalakoa]

Business service "includes" the WiFi (and static IP addresses).

When I look at the residential order page there is an option for "I have my own gateway ($0.00/month)".

Mine has no gateway, just an ONT, 12VDC power brick, draws under 5mA, output is plain gigabit copper, POTS port isn't used.

Telcom will hang the fiber on a building that's tall/close enough, no need to put up a pole or drill ground rods.

[leilanidude]

just an ONT, 12VDC power brick, draws under 5mA, output is plain gigabit copper
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That is all I have of theirs. I do have a phone line too though and service is 500 down x 300up. Total cost is $95.59 a month. I refused their router because it was not even slightly adequate for my needs. The installer seemed impressed that I had a box of CAT6 and crimp tools. Computers, printer, some of the security cameras and two TV's are hard-wired to a gigabit enet switch. I have battery backup for the little fiber termination box, my router and enet switch. Wifi is used for cell phones, some other security cameras and the Alexa-enabled devices that control a number of lights and the ability to power cycle individual security cameras if they have an issue.

[terracore]

That's good to hear. What's a good "gateway" for somebody wanting to buy their own?

[kalakoa]

Order an apu4d4 (12V brick, 6mA) from pcengines.ch (they ship international post), install OpenBSD, and write a PF ruleset. It's worth the effort.

Note that you "can" get a cheaper SSD, but then you have to install it yourself. Not a big deal but I kind of like not having to open the case.

If you want wifi with that, hang an outboard bridge on one of the ports, apu can take a wifi card but the bridge will perform better. Linksys LAPAC will take PoE and VLANs, so with the right switch, you can create multiple SSIDs with different security postures, also worth the effort.

[randomq]

Thanks for all the good info! I'm 300 feet back from the lines, so I guess my next step is to decide how to get the fiber all the way to the house. I could beam it back from a solar powered box up front, but I think I want to actually run some stuff directly on ethernet. Think I would need one pole or two for the fiber?

[kalakoa]

For copper, Telcom wants to be within 100' of the line; if it crosses the road, top of pole must be 14' AGL. Alpha has the hanger hardware if you don't want to drill holes in the pipe.

They will accept a 4" pipe; these were $400 (+install) last I checked, so a small "guard shack" might be cheaper. You can run conduit after that instead of more poles, Telcom has a 300' fish tape, but you might still want some access pulls at 60' intervals. Proper "C body" will have to be ordered online, but you can fake these by capping off the side connection of a T body. Gray PVC caps are only available at Lowe's; for some reason HPM has the best selection of access pulls larger than 1". A 1" conduit is a little tight, especially for long distances. Larger conduit gives better protection against rodents (their jaws don't open far enough).

Install trick: get a cap the same size as your conduit. Glue together sections 20-50' or so. Stick a cap on the end (don't glue it) and you can shove the section through the weeds. Way less work than clearing the whole path. Keep the conduit run between the driveway and the property line, that way you never have to drive on it.

Don't take my word for it, get a real site survey, it's possible the rules are less stringent for fiber, or when that fiber doesn't cross the road.

One more thing. It's not enough to have fiber "near your house", you must also be close enough to the terminal. Terminals are rectangular with an orange/black FO number. Telcom prefers that the end-to-end be under 1000' but they will install a junction in front of your house if they must.

[blizzardwizard]

Order an apu4d4 (12V brick, 6mA) from pcengines.ch (they ship international post), install OpenBSD, and write a PF ruleset. It's worth the effort.

Note that you "can" get a cheaper SSD, but then you have to install it yourself. Not a big deal but I kind of like not having to open the case.

If you want wifi with that, hang an outboard bridge on one of the ports, apu can take a wifi card but the bridge will perform better. Linksys LAPAC will take PoE and VLANs, so with the right switch, you can create multiple SSIDs with different security postures, also worth the effort.

As much as wouldn't want to discourage someone from learning all this, they are currently 100+ without wireless and you still need to buy a modem





Fiber will go into a small box which turns fiber to cable cord. Mine is 30w after boot. From here it needs to go to a modem and from there to a wireless router. Off the shelf modems take copper. Not all modems are supported so keep the receipt or check with the isp first. If you want I can pull watt numbers for the modem and router I use.

[kalakoa]

they are currently 100+ without wireless

I prefer real hardware that's actually configurable instead of cheap chinese wifi-flavor-of-the-week. YMMV.

From here it needs to go to a modem and from there to a wireless router.

What kind of "modem" is this?