The cable modem I have is the Arris one that Metrocast gave us. My gut tells me it's probably just fine, but before I do anything else, I will test the speed right off of the cable modem. If it still is poor, I might look at a decent upgrade. Recommendations?
Also, I've always used regular Cat5e or Cat6 ethernet cables. I'm guessing there's nothing wrong with the cable.
I'd love to just hardwire the whole house, but the return on investment is poor, since there's only a few wi-fi devices
that even HAVE ethernet ports (tablets, smartphones, thin laptops etc) and quite honestly - I don't see how it could
be done without a lot more cost than I am willing to shoulder. If I lived alone, I'd just run them on the walls and floor,
but I have a family, and pets, and that's not an option anymore.
The ONE thing I have to have is fast, reliable Internet for my work. Some of the tools I use require significantly faster
connections - this week, I've had a breakthrough on getting some tools to work after a year of trying things - and all
I really did was try to optimize the speed. Right now I have my office jerry-rigged, but I need a more permanent solution.
I may well give ABB a call this week.