@wayneluke, same here. I have a separate Motorola/Arris modem, a quality router, a few Gigabit switches, three AccessPoints, and everything that does not need to move, and have the ability to be hardwired, is via hundred upon hundred of yard of CAT-5 cabling.
And FWIW, I’ve been fighting Comcast for years, telling them that all I need from them is an IP address over a reliable connection. No mail service, no anti-virus, no TV, no add on services, etc.
Some 10 year ago, I called them and said I needed a new coax into the house, as the old one was run the wrong way, had a number of splices leading to a raised noise floor. I did bury a new conduit all the way from their box out by the street into my my wiring closet in the basement. What should have been an easy wire pull ended up taking a few hours as none of us had any cable lubricant handy. But the tech was nice, did a few extra coax terminations on wires I had run inside the house “just in case”, and I paid all of $35 for the work.
Zero service/network outages due to poor signal strength since that day.
Far too many are relying on coax that often was run decades ago, has been cut by accidents, and spliced over and over again. If homeowners took a shovel, did some digging and spent $30-$40 in conduits, not only would many be able to get better service, but also a service that is better “physically” protected. As it is very easy for a perpetrator to just cut the - far too often - exposed coax or fiber line these days.
When the coax was run initially, “security” really did not matter that much (coax was only for TV service), but today there is a bunch of (important) services that relies on a secure - and “secured” - connection. A few of us have cellular data to fall back on if that line from the ISP fails, but otherwise it is really only professionally installed alarm systems that have true backup connectivity.
Even if not putting down new coax, some simple cleaning up of existing wiring will greatly increase the physical security of the ISP connection.
Here’s an explicit example of how Smart Home devices (most of which will be WiFi/WLAN connected) are kind of folded-in to the general wonderfulness that 5G will enable:
5G will be the foundation for virtual reality, autonomous driving, the Internet of Things and stuff we can’t even yet imagine.
The frame from the video corresponding to that text shows the “Internet of Things” as comprised of Smart Home stuff like locksets, plugs and light bulbs (2-out-of-3 currently sold by Wyze.)
Do you really want to pay an additional fee to your cellular company every month for each IOT device in your home? Even at a $1 a month, this could be $30-$50 (or more) every month.
Even with the added costs, this is at least 5 years off. Even if cities allow the widespread access point installations that will be needed at a decent rate.
Hi @wayneluke. To be clear, I’m not advocating or bewailing anything in that post, just trying to dope things out. BTW, I forgot to thank you for the info you provided above:
I think 5G (and it’s successors) will eventually supplant today’s WiFi in some way shape or form. But for most of us 5G is three to five years off in any practical way.
It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Demand and need are often significant drivers in technological innovation and advances. Iot will certainly provide scads of both demand and need.
If your wireless router is broadcasting in both 2Ghz and 5Ghz, and you’re concerned about the gigahertzes heating up your biological junk, is broadcasting in both 2 & 5 twice as bad, like you’re running two wireless routers insteada one?
Absolutely! I am making a line of lead mesh underwear for the discerning techno geek with a fashion sense. I expect it will be a “hot” seller in a year or 20!
And my router will be a tri band, 2.5Ghz, 5Ghz, and 5G.
Fortune favors the bold. And the lead shielded.