Buy Instead of Build

My desire to network my home systems began when I got broadband access through a cable modem and, at about the same time, purchased a third family computer for my wife to use when traveling.  Including my work computer, I had 4 systems which needed access to the Internet.  For a variety of reasons (including little free time to build and troubleshoot my own network and a desire to get the thing done instead of tinkering with something I tried to piece together myself), I decided to have the local cable company install a wireless network for me in my house.  In making this decision, I made a conscious choice of convenience over cost, but in the end possibly got less convenience than I had counted on.

My first attempt with having the cable company do the installation involved a wireless network using equipment from a company called 2Wire.  The installer appeared to be a contractor (rather than a cable company employee) who seemed to have little detailed knowledge of the equipment, it’s capabilities, or computers in general beyond plugging in the equipment, installing the software off of a CD, and providing pre-scripted answers to the installation prompts.  I was less than impressed with the technology, which proved to be unreliable and very short range.  The signal strength was so weak that it would not reach far beyond the confines of our bedroom office where the wireless router was installed on our main PC.   The router also did not appear to have any signal encryption (a must in a wireless network for your home) and there was little documentation available either from the installer or the company’s web site.  Finally, after two routers mysteriously stopped working for no apparent reason, we demanded the cable company come take the wireless solution out and install a hardwired network which carried the signal through the telephone wiring.

The installation of the hardwired network proved to be a similar experience to the wireless installation.  Again, the technician was a contractor to the cable company who appeared to know little more about the system than I did.  The installation of the network router was quick, as was the installation of network cards in 2 of my older systems.  The hardwire solution performed well for a while but within a couple of months, the router failed and had to be replaced.  The installer who performed the replacement was clearly the most knowledgeable of all thus far; he knew technical details about both the failed router and the new (different brand) router that he installed.  Neither the old nor the new router were brands I recognized (such as Linksys or Netgear) and I wasn’t too surprised when the new router also began to develop problems after a few months.  When I called the cable company to complain I was told they didn’t use this equipment any more and didn’t even offer hardwire solutions any more.  By this time I was pretty fed up with the poor quality of the equipment offered by the cable company, and told them to come take the whole thing out.  I decided to give them one last chance, though, when I was told their wireless equipment was now provided by Linksys (a brand I know makes quality equipment).  I have had the current wireless network installed for several months now with hardly a glitch.

A few hints if you are thinking about paying someone to install your home network:

• Be prepared to pay for the convenience – Although broadband access (cable modem or DSL) is definitely worth the cost, be prepared to pay $100-150 for installation of a home network and $10-20 per month for the equipment, depending on how many computers you have.  If you are not sure you can handle the complexity of installing a network yourself, TRY.   Right now I’m too lazy/occupied with other things to rip out the cable company’s gear and install my own, but I doubt if I’ll do it this way again if I move.
• Don’t expect the installers or cable company help desk people to know what they’re talking about – The installer on my first wireless network was absolutely “positive” that the equipment he was installing included encryption of the network signal, but he couldn’t answer any questions about it or show me where the encryption was described in the documentation or how it was configured at setup.  With only one exception, none of the company installers appeared to know any more about what they were installing than I did. They all had “cheat sheets” for the installation prompts and they all had to call for help from someone else when they ran into problems. Also be prepared for the “help desk shuffle” between different operators when you call the company for assistance, as most companies have different groups dealing in basic cable or voice service and data and home network services.  Finger pointing between groups is almost a certainty.
• Insist on name brand equipment ....even if you have to buy it yourself and pay a friend to install it -  I’m convinced that a large part of our frustration with our home networking experienced stemmed from the fact that the cable company was using low quality equipment to cut costs.  One of their help desk people as much as admitted this when I called to complain about one of the several equipment failures we experienced during this odyssey.
• Don’t expect to have a hassle free experience just because someone else installs the network – Read my story again if you have doubts.

 In the final analysis, I believe I would have had less overall frustration and grief if I’d done a little research, purchased some equipment and installed a wireless network on my own.