Which BSNL FTTH Modem to purchase?

[partymonger]

I am considering converting from Broadband to FTTH. Which modem to go for? Are there any that you can purchase from the market? I need full 1gbps. Already have a router with custom firmware and switches. So good wifi is not a necessity. (If its there then its great for when I reset it, dont need to use lan)

Any suggestions for third party or even bsnl modems are welcome.

 

[varkey]

You could look at a basic Netlink modem, it appears to be easily available.

GPON ONT 1GE (HG2801ZG) - NETLINK - Current Optronics

GPON ONT 1GE Special Features ► Plug and play, integrated auto-detecting, auto-configuration, and auto firmware upgrade, etc. ► Integrated OMCI remote configuration and maintenance function. ► Functions like transceiver diagnostic monitoring, transmitter disable, etc. ► Fully compatibility with...

www.crtindia.com

There are WiFi variants too, for another 800 or so more.

 

[JB701]

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[partymonger]

You could look at a basic Netlink modem, it appears to be easily available.

GPON ONT 1GE (HG2801ZG) - NETLINK - Current Optronics

GPON ONT 1GE Special Features ► Plug and play, integrated auto-detecting, auto-configuration, and auto firmware upgrade, etc. ► Integrated OMCI remote configuration and maintenance function. ► Functions like transceiver diagnostic monitoring, transmitter disable, etc. ► Fully compatibility with...

www.crtindia.com

There are WiFi variants too, for another 800 or so more.

Anything from good companies like TP-Link or Netgear or D-Link? Perhaps something that supports custom firmware?

 

[varkey]

Unlikely, you could find Huawei ONTs (try checking IndiaMart), and I think Airtel provides Nokia ones, but then it's not easily available.

I'd just get a basic ONT, and use it in bridge mode with a proper router. Looking for an all in one device with custom firmware support etc may not be practical and could be expensive too.

 

[partymonger]

Okay thanks! How are the ones the BSNL itself gives?

 

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[varkey]

BSNL provides ONTs only if the last mile is done by them, I think its from a brand called Alphion which sucks.

If last mile is through an LCO, it's upto the LCO which ONT is given and in most cases would be overpriced.

 

[partymonger]

Last mile here is by some bsnl partner not themselves. Asking for 3-5k for connection 😕

 

[varkey]

Yeah, for me also around the same. Ask them if you can just pay for installation and get the ONT yourself. For me it was 1k for installation.

Although I ended up getting the ONT from the LCO as I needed it immediately. Paid 3k for the Netlink WiFi device which was available for 2.2k or so incl tax shipping etc. And I didn't even need the WiFi device, I use it now with everything disabled as a dumb modem. 😛

 

[dhogaivannan]

@varkey I have the same net-link modem you specified /w wifi. My LCO provided me with that modem. But I had issues operating that in bridge , where my TP-Link is connected to that modem from net-link(lan) -> TP- Link(wan). It fails to operate properly in bridge mode, don't know where I'm going wrong. Any ideas how to?

 

[varkey]

@dhogaivannan BSNL does MAC address binding, so it will only work from the registered WAN side MAC address of the Netlink. Unfortunately you cannot clone the Netlink MAC to your TP-Link device as that stops the whole thing from working. You need to get the MAC binding reset from BSNL's side so that you can get it to work in bridge mode.

As far as configuring it in bridge mode is concerned, you just need to configure as below (use the appropriate VLAN ID and bind it to a port, I use VLAN based binding hence its not checked on this page)

You can read more about my experience in getting the MAC binding reset here -- Need some review of new BSNL Bharat Fiber FTTH Broadband Plans 777 / 1277 | Bharat Fiber Broadband (BSNL FTTH)
I hope you have a better experience! 😉

 

[dhogaivannan]

@varkey What reason did you provide for getting that MAC binding reset? So, was it like removing MAC binding totally or you just binded that to your new modem? I've seen that my TP-Link has the MAC Clone for internet. Is there anyway to use that?

 

[varkey]

Reason? That I wanted to change to bridge mode and hence needed the MAC binding reset. It wasn't removed, they just reset it on their end to the new MAC address, please go through the linked post above for more specific details.

As I mentioned, cloning didn't work for me, as when the Netlink sees that the MAC address of your router WAN interface is same as that of the Netlink interface, it just shuts down. I had done extensive testing, but couldn't get it to work. You could try too, maybe you'd have better luck.

 

[dhogaivannan]

@varkey Okay then, so you set it to PPPoE and i took bsnl password from the backup file i did on my net-link and use those to do the rest?

 

[varkey]

It would depend on how your BSNL contact person would do it, anyway for me I had to configure my router (not the ONT in bridge mode) with test credentials shared by BSNL liaison/contact. This was for them to get my correct WAN side MAC address. After that they made the required changes on their end and I configured the router with my actual credentials and it worked.