German network operators requested national regulator to exclude Router Freedom from fiber networks
German network operators requested national regulator to exclude Router Freedom from fiber networks
German network operators have requested the national regulator Bundesnetzagentur to start procedures to exclude Router Freedom from fiber networks. In a co...
Good god no.
Getting my own modem and using my own router was the only way I could:
- Get a non CG-NAT IPv4 address
- Set up port forwarding for my ipv4 stack
- set up firewall rules for my ipv6 stack
- Use a non trash tier wireless access point.
The box they gave me had no configuration options outside of renaming the SSID and was only able to do dual stack light. Ridiculous.
Frankly even if (4) was your only goal here, that feels like more than enough reason.
Not sure how it goes where you are, but where I'm from (New Zealand), FTTH is widely available but the exact locations within houses where ONTs get installed often leaves a lot to be desired.
If you don't want your router in one corner of your house where it only provides WiFi signal to half your rooms, you either have to have an installer who'll tolerate your request (due to the way they're paid for installations if you suggest something that takes more time you'll often meet some resistance), run cables of your own from the ONT to a better location for the router, or go with better access points.
Well if you can't use the router to connect to the fiber, they maybe you can do this : Fiber > isp router > ethernet > custom router > devices.
This would just add a slight negligible latency increase and maybe limit the max speed to the ethernet port, but you'll get all the benefits of the second router.
The second router having it's DHCP network with it's firewall.
Also double NAT
If they allow their router to be configured as a modem maybe. Else wise you would be behind double NAT for ipv4 and double firewalled for ipv6. This would be worse than everything else.
I can understand that if they are selling gigabit fibre, deploying optional modem-only installs, and having inexperienced users complaining they aren't getting gigabit speeds because they are using some €15 mini tplink WiFi AP thing, then having to trouble shoot that and potentially look like the bad guys by saying "the hardware you have bought is trash".
I would get mad about that if I had to support that.
Maintaining some sort of "minimum requirements" or "only supported hardware" list considering there are SSSOOOO many routers out there (never mind whitebox openwrt/opnsense/pfsense/mikrotik/raw-linux whatever) is impossible.
And Intel pcie 4-port gigabit cards are so commonly counterfeits (especially on eBay, for those enthusiasts) which could throw so many issues before it even gets to os/userland.I don't know what the Router Freedom thing is. Sounds amazing to me based on the name (and knowing the EU).
I can understand why ISPs might get antsy when stuff has to run gigabit wirespeed.
But maybe "we only guarantee wirespeed on our hardware"... but if the hardware they are providing is just a modem, it might be hard to remotely debug and provide support.
I think I'm rambling.I mean the solution is already being done.
Just have an officially supported list of modems/routers. Realistically 10 would be enough. If a customer calls in asking for technical support you can just say “we only offer support for the devices on the list” anyone who wants more power can buy off list devices knowing they won’t have technical support.
That’s how American ISPs do it.
Lol, my super old second hand 20€ Archer C7 with OpenWRT has better WiFi speeds than the supplied Fiber Router/Modem.
Imagine that, it has real antennas!
My ISP provides an ONT and wireless router. It takes some convincing, but they will put their router in bridged mode, which disables all the routing and Wi-fi stuff so you can manage your own network. If you have a VLAN capable router you can connect directly to the ONT. In those cases they will indeed not support anything more than a single Ethernet connected computer.
I’m not sure how that’s affected if you also get their home phone or cable/streaming service since that’s all delivered over the same fibre drop.
I'm baffled in how the EU is so much for consumer rights and punishing Apple, Google and Microsoft but then they completely ignore the issue of choosing your own router in your own home network.
In germany therr is legislation forcing them to allow you to use your own router. This is just a sneaky attempt to circumvent this law via the EU.
This will probably end up backfiring as germany is the EU. They will just slap the same law on all EU countries.
This will probably end up backfiring as germany is the EU. They will just slap the same law on all EU countries.
Thank god, that this is not true, because EU safed us Germans so many time from our conservative governments.
This is definitely not an EU wide issue. I’ve lived in a couple of different countries and always had the option of using my own hardware with static IPv4 and recently also static IPv6 addresses and with no port restrictions
I live in Spain and my ISP lets me do that but some ISPs don't. So, I think protecting your right to your device of choice in your own home network would be a good idea. After all, I've caught the ISP trying to eavesdrop on my network.
so they're gonna force me to use fritzboxes. i thought being stuck with telekom daughter companies as ISPs was bad enough.
Don't worry, it's not like AVM is potentially being sold to an investment bank :) .... oh wait
What's wrong with good 'ol reliable Fritzbox? Never had a single problem with one and get's the job done