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3 Messages
Business Private vs. Public WiFi
Comcast installed our Business WiFi yesterday. We are a condominium building and use Comcast for our "common area" telephone, CATV and Internet. I have two questions related to Comcast Business WiFi:
1. The technician only setup one hotspot, and that hotspot is the "private" business WiFi hotspot. He did not setup, nor did he seem to know how to setup, the "public" hotspot. Do we need Comcast to return to complete this step, or are there instructions available for us to do this ourselves?
2. The technician installed the cable modem and installed one router from that cable modem. However, we will be adding two other routers, connected to the same modem. Similar to # 1, each router should have a "private" hotspot and a "public" hotspot. Do we need Comcast modems for this? Or, can we buy our own modems (same make and model as Comcast) to set this up ourselves?
The reason we are interested in the private vs. public hotspots is because, for those residents who live near the hotspots, we don't want them using the common area Internet for their own private use. The public hotspot gives them 2 hours free per month, unless they already pay Comcast for their own in-Unit Internet.
Thanks.
Accepted Solution
alta_bod
New Member
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3 Messages
11 years ago
Do the Xfinity WiFi Hot Spot access points connect to a standard router via Ethernet? I guess that's the piece of the puzzle I'm missing when Comcast says I can use customer-supplied routers. What exactly does the "set" that you mention in Option # 1 provide that I don't already have?
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VBSSP-RICH
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1.4K Messages
11 years ago
The set that I mentioned for both public and private WIFI are as follows:
Public - set = one dedicated wireless router device and one access point device (usually a Belair access point to elongate the access proximity.
Private - as you mentioned the Netgear 150 wireless router that is offerred for your employee private WIFI for public security.
That should clear it up for you if not, get back to us.
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alta_bod
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3 Messages
11 years ago
Comcast installed the following:
Modem - SMCD3G-CCR
Router - Netgear Wireless-N 150 Router WNR1000v2
To explain a bit more, the modem and Comcast-supplied router are installed in a telecom closet on P1 (Parking Garage Level 1). We have Ethernet running from that P1 telecom closet to telecom closets in the lobby, 2nd floor community room, and rooftop lounge. Those Ethernet lines run to customer-supplied routers in those other three locations.
Ideally, we would like to have a "public" hotspot in each of those locations for residents to use. Comcast Customer Care said we can purchase our own routers, and we already have our "private" WiFi up and running in each of those locations. However, I'm not clear how the "public" hotspot is then setup. Is there additional equipment we need? And, is there an additional charge for this?
Thanks.
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VBSSP-RICH
Advocate
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1.4K Messages
11 years ago
Hello alta_bod and welcome,
As a Comcast Bulk/Multi-Dwelling Unit customer, could you please specify the Gateway and Private WIFI internet modem and router, respectively, model types that were installed in your location.
Look forward to hearing back from you.
Per your inquiry " The public hotspot gives them 2 hours free per month, unless they already pay Comcast for their own in-Unit Internet. " this means that you have a universal Xfinity WIFI HotSpot that any Comcast business or residential customer who possesses a valid Comcast Email address and valid password can log into one of the Master WIFI Hotspot servers for internet access. Also as you pointed out, non-Comcast users having no Comcast email address can still log in for 2 60 minute sessions in a 30 day timeframe. Now Comcast offers the Private WIFI for only business specific employee usage. This is to insure there are no security risks of public hackers gaining access to any business customer personal information on the internet.
Hope this helps you out.
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VBSSP-RICH
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1.4K Messages
11 years ago
Hi alta_bod,
Okay, so the 2 devices you have are bonafide business class devices and they are both for your private business usage. It sound like you need a specialized Xfinity HotSpot implementation and the place to start is with your Sales Representative. The Sales rep might be able to provide you with 2 solutions as follows:
1. see if Comcast is willing to provide you with 2-3 more sets of the standard mutli-devices Xfinity WIFI Hot Spot routers and access points.
2. if not Comcast now has a new DPC3939B single product described here that contains wired, Public Xfinity HotSpot WIFI, and private WIFI. I believe you can have multiple new High Speed Internet Service(s) (HSIS) setup at your location that each can be facilitated by siingle DPC3939B device. To the best of my knowledge, if you wanted to replace your current multi-device current solution there will be a 69.95 Installation charge. However, using the DPC3939B device for new HSISs there is no installation charge especially for multi-HSIS connections that your described networking environment requires. One of the many nice features of the DPC3939B it has both public and private dual channel 2.4GHz (longer proximity WIFI access) and 5.0 GHz (better for heavy material penetration access) and this provides the best WIFI capability for frequency specific devices, too.
Sounds like you have a really fun implementation ahead of you and I am positive that Comcast will support your business needs and requirements. Hope this helps you out.
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