Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

choreo

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 10, 2008
910
357
Midland, TX
I currently have a Suddenlink Coax Cable Modem connected to a new AirPort Extreme. I have been using Suddenlink for 20 years.

Next week AT&T is coming out to install their Digital Service to my home for Telephone and their Plan includes Internet service and a Modem they provide.

It would save me about $65/month, if I could discontinue my Suddenlink Internet service, but I don't trust the AT&T Internet service yet. Is there a way I could keep BOTH the Suddenlink modem and the new AT&T modem connected and switch between the two until I gain confidence, then maybe terminate my Suddenlink subscription?

With Suddenlink I am getting 50 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload (verified).

AT&T "claims" 50 Mpbs download and 10 Mbps upload - is that even possible through a phone jack?

AT&T says that with their service I have a "direct" connection to AT&T which gives me more reliable and consistent data speed whereas with Suddenlink I am on a shared neighborhood connection that varies with load - does that sound right?
 

AmazingHenry

macrumors 65816
Jul 6, 2015
1,285
534
Central Michigan
Sounds easy enough. Hook up the two modems. Attach one of them to the AirPort Extreme. When you want to try the other one, switch the Ethernet cable that's connected to the AP.
 
  • Like
Reactions: choreo

hvfsl

macrumors 68000
Jul 9, 2001
1,870
187
London, UK
Another option would get a router that has 2 WAN ports (so both internet connections can be used at the same time). We use the Draytek 2925 at work for a lot of our customers, but you can get a used 29xx series one off eBay for not too much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: choreo

campyguy

macrumors 68040
Mar 21, 2014
3,413
957
Agreed with hvfsl, 100%. I love my AEs, they're stoopid simple, however I'm moving on. Having just opened a home office to supplement my 3 business offices, I installed a Synology RT2600ac which includes dual WAN options to address my wants for failover and load balancing as I really don't trust the two ISPs here (I even still have UL data on legacy VZW plans just in case - my clients really don't care how they get in touch with me!).

What I like about the RT2600ac is the additional services that Synology provides, but the want for redundant WANs is the main reason I bought it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.