Motorola SB6120 Docsis 3.0 Modem on Comcast
Docsis 3.0 is the next generation of high speed broadband access over cable lines. Comcast is one of the leaders in the area and currently building out the service at a very rapid pace. Fortunately for me, the service was available in my area pretty quickly and I immediately opted to upgrade. See: Docsis 3.0 Modem and Speed.
The modem that Comcast initially provided, for rent, was a UBEE Modem model U10C035. It worked pretty nicely for the first month or two of service and then the speed and quality of the service began to deteriorate. Naturally I contacted Comcast and they were very helpful in trying to isolate the issue and provide various repairs/replacements. No luck…the modem was just not working the way it should have in my area.
I finally decided it was time to stop renting a modem and purchase my own modem. The modem of choice was the Motorola Surfboard SB6120 Docsis 3.0 modem which was purchased for $85.00USD. The rental fees for modems are about $3.95USD per month without taxes which equates to a little over $50 per year. Naturally I thought owning my own modem made more sense since I would not have to pay rental fees and there was little chance that it would have any issues before I recovered its total cost. Perfect decision.
Docsis 3.0 when initially installed in my home was providing in excess of 50mbps down and 10mbps up. However, over time, the UBEE modem was slowing the connection down to about 20mbps down and 5mbps up. Upsetting? Yes, I was paying for a lot more then I was receiving and thus either a repair should have been completed or a solution provided. I finally asked for a different brand modem from Comcast and was informed that they had no other models available in my area and that it was OK if I purchased my own. The SURFBoard line from Motorola is a trusted line of modems and thus there was no 2nd guessing this purchase. It arrived and was setup in minutes via Comcast’s automated software. The results are quite amazing and I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
The first test was to Comcast in Philadelphia, PA.
The second test was to Optimum Online in New York, NY.
Both of the tests were conducted using Speedtest.net. I have my speed back and am finally getting the speeds I am paying for. Motorola has another great product on their hands and time will tell if the Docsis 3.0 version can stand the test of time.
