I have a equipment rack in my basement. It has a patch panel, gigabit switch, and it's all neatly (for various definitions of "neat") connected to the cat-5 that is wired throughout my house. I've got a Xywall firewall and a wifi AP as well.
The short version is that this means that I have no need for a Verizon Router of any kind. The only thing I require for FIOS internet service is PPPoE from my ONT. I'd just plug it into my firewall and that's it.
I initially asked for it to be installed this way, but it wasn't done. I was given the "free" router. Oh well -- the router wasn't hurting anything, so I left it alone.
But then we got that letter telling us we had to pay to upgrade our router to the Quantum Gateway or else we'd be charged $1.50 a month.
So now the router *was* hurting something (the bill, in one form or another). So I called Verizon to ask for it to be replaced with the PPPoE drop I initially requested but did not get.
The tech came and explained that while I did not need the router for internet connectivity, my FIOS DVR *did* need it in order to be able to download the guide, et al.
I don't want to be too blunt here, but I must ask: Why is this my problem?
I mean, I'd obviously prefer to "upgrade" the DVR to one that no longer has this requirement. Do I have any options to make my DVR not require a Verizon Router? Can I configure it to use my own equipment, or say, if I had a Tivo with a Vz Cable Card, would I still need the router? I'm willing to do what it would take because I have no other need for this piece of equipment.
If that is not possible, then it raises the obvious question: Whose problem is this?
If the DVR requires special equipment, why am I required to pay for it? This should be the problem of the people who rent me the DVR. Do cable companies charge for the rental of routers to customers who don't have internet service?? Most customers have a separate need for the router, but I'm not any of them.
Surely Verizon wouldn't charge me to upgrade the telco equipment that I happen to be connected to at a cage in the CO, would it? If working with the old Verizon-provided router is a problem for Verizon, then Verizon is welcome to replace it at their own cost.
I'm really trying to not be a jerk about this. I'm willing to reconfigure things so that I don't need a router. From day one, I've done this to the maximum extent possible, making it such that I'm not tethered to any given ISP. So by all means, charge the people who require the presence of the router. That's simply not me. It's apparently another group inside of Verizon.