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Using my own Modem Router with Community Fibre

harryw66

Casual Member
Hi all,
Apologies if this is a dumb question but...

I currently have a Billion Bipac 8900AX R2 ((plus TP-Link Mesh) with a PlusNet FTTC connection
I have a CF 500Mpbs install booked for later this week and I understand they will install a 'modem' and router.

I want to continue using my Bipac router with CF. My understanding is that I should be able to do that by just moving the ethernet from the CF Velop router to my Bipac router and adding a WAN entry on the Bipac.

Assuming that is the case, any ideas where I would get all the necessary config params required for the Bipac? When I select the Add WAN service the following form appears:
AddWAN1.jpg

followed by:
AddWAN2.jpg


Not really an expert on this stuff - took me ages to set up the fixed IP and firewall rules on the Bipac - so any dummy-level help would be much appreciated.

Note that my Plusnet contract still has 6-7 weeks to run. I signed up early for CF as they offered a 12m contract (important as we may move in the next 12 months) with 6 months free. So, if can leave both the PN and CF connections active for the next few weeks that would be great - obvs with the CF as the Default/Primary connection if possible.

Thanks
 
You have a decent router which supports 3 WAN interfaces - DSL, ethernet & 3G/4G LTE. I would let CF install the Adtran ONT and Velop router. Test this all work’s satisfactorily over wired and obtain 400mbps+ speedtest.

Once happy connect ethernet cable from Adtran ONT into your own router bypassing the Velop. The WAN interface needs to be configured for DHCP and no authentication required.

Looking at page 117 - IP over Ethernet shows the settings needed.


I have both CF & Plusnet running in WAN failover mode but my Plusnet contract is ending this month so will be cancelling.
 
Last edited:
You have a decent router which supports 3 WAN interfaces - DSL, ethernet & 3G/4G LTE. I would let CF install the Adtran ONT and Velop router. Test this all work’s satisfactorily over wired and obtain 900mbps+ speedtest.

Once happy connect ethernet cable from Adtran ONT into your own router bypassing the Velop. The WAN interface needs to be configured for DHCP and no authentication required.

Looking at page 117 - IP over Ethernet shows the settings needed.


I have both CF & Plusnet running in WAN failover mode but my Plusnet contract is ending this month so will be cancelling.
Thanks for the detailed reply - much appreciated.
I read elsewhere that I would have to get the ont port reprovisioned as it would be bound to the Velop.
Did you have to do that - and if so, how was that done? Raise a support ticket or could the install engineer arrange that?
Also, I have only gone for the 500mbps connection - should be good enough for me 🙂
Thanks
 
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500mbps is a decent service as its not subject to CGNAT and you get a dynamic public IP address.

In terms of reconnecting from the Adtran ONT to a 3rd party router it just worked. No support calls / tickets needed.
 
Hi
Thanks again for the reply.
Currently my WAN service list shows the following.
WANsjpg.webp

Not using any 3g/4g dongle - so I know I can delete that entry.
But I am not sure why I have a PPPoA and PPPoE entry.
When I look at my Status->WAN page it shows the PPPoE is active+connected and the PPPoA is unconfigured - so can I remove the PPPoA to keep things clean?

Cheers.
 
Please confirm how Plusnet connection is currently cabled from the telephone socket. It should be telephone socket direct to DSL port on Billion router (PPPoA). But you may have configured the Plusnet hub in bridge mode and connected via ethernet to Billion router, hence using PPPoE. The Plusnet hub isn’t required in your setup.

Port diagram here shows DSL port 8) which should be used for Plusnet, CF Adtran ONT connection will be to port 5).

 
Thanks, yes the BT faceplate is connected directly to the dsl port using an rj11 cable. So, I will delete the PPOoA entry. Cheers
 
Last edited:
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Hi @stackdell
Sorry for being thick, but when I had a play with adding the IP over Ethernet as an additional Wan Service, the next tab asks me to specify the Default Gateway and DNS Server interface.
The form allows me to select add both the ppp and ipoe as Default Gateway Interfaces and DNS Server Interfaces:
1684162949175.webp

I can then select one of the WAN interfaces as the Selected WAN interface as the System Default Gateway, but then lower down there is another 'WAN interface Selected' - which I dont understand. How does that differ from the Selected WAN interface as the System Default Gateway?

Also, what is the significance of having both eth4.1 and pppoe as Selected DNS Server Interfaces?

Apologies if these are really dumb questions - I did try to google, but did not get anywhere...

Note that I have not yet enabled the above config - was just exploring the configuration in prep for when my install is done..

Thank you
 
I’ve not got much experience of your router but have the following guidance:

- use static DNS entries 8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4
- if using multiple WAN providers disable IPv6 as it’ll complicate matters, so disable IPv6 WAN & DNS interfaces

Once you have the above working you can experiment with IPv6 but keep it simple to begin with.
 
Hi @stackdell,
Thanks for your help. I got the CF installed yesterday and setup the IP over Ethernet WAN service as per your suggestion.
I also added the static DNS entries - there were DNS resolution issues until I added them - I dont think the router was able to resolve using the CF DNS for some reason?
I have disconnected the PlusNet cable for now - as I just wanted to eliminate any conflicts etc. Hopefully, will plug that back in on the weekend and see how it goes.
Cheers!
 
Great news, glad it all worked out!

Baby steps and small incremental changes is the path to success 😀

Feel free to ask more questions if you need any further clarification.
 
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