do I need a second router after coax splitter from ONT?

[neil1967]

I've got an ONT in the garage and coax that runs up into the family room where the Verizon router sits.  I have internet only, but I run my cord-cut TV off of an ethernet cable from the router to the TV.  I have a leftover coax from my Comcast days that runs from the garage up to a second floor bedroom.  If I put a splitter on the coax coming out of the ONT, I can attach the coax that runs into the router in the family room and also this other coax that runs up to the bedroom.  My question is, do I need a second router in the bedroom to connect via ethernet cable to the second TV?  If not, how would I get the second TV running?

[Cang_Household · Accepted solution]

Before answering your question, please allow me to point out some caveats in your current setup. You have a coax cable from the ONT to the VZ router and you are not subscribed to Fios TV. Okay. Anyway for you to run an Ethernet cable from the ONT to the router? Also, you don't need to use a VZ router is you don't want to.

Your setup sounds like you are still stuck with grandfathered speed tiers and is probably paying more for less speed. If I have not guessed wrong, you are currently subscribed to 100/100 or less. You should run an Ethernet cable from the ONT to your router and call in to switch the Internet delivery method to Ethernet and should be able to get 300/300 for $40. If the ONT is the bottleneck to the speed, you can request to upgrade your ONT at most likely no charge.

Sorry for the digression. Now to really answer your question. Do you need a second router in the bedroom? No. You just need a MoCA Ethernet bridge/adapter (nonetheless, a used router can be configured to serve as a MoCA adapter).

The coax from the ONT to your router contains the MoCA WAN. This is the WAN connection from the ONT to the router via MoCA frames. The very VZ router can also put MoCA LAN on the same coax cable without interference. And MoCA LAN can propagate to anywhere the coax wire reaches. If you connect the coax to your bedroom via a splitter to the coax between the ONT and the router, the MoCA LAN will extend to your bedroom. Over there, you can put a MoCA adapter to convert it back to Ethernet to feed your second TV.

I would imagine TV does not need so much bandwidth, so the legacy MoCA 1.1 versioned adapters should be serviceable (capped at 175Mbps). If you want to put desktops, game boxes, or even wireless access points in your bedroom, MoCA 1.1 is no good. You might need to consider MoCA 2.0 bonded, or even MoCA 2.5 for future proof.

Here are some products that will work.

1) FNA (aka Fios Network Adapter, ECB5240M), $55 + tax + shipping, GbE, 1000Mbps MoCA 2.0 bonded

2) MEA (aka MoCA Ethernet Adapter), $99 + tax - free shipping, 2.5GbE, 2500Mbps MoCA 2.5

2a) Stream TV MoCA Ethernet Adapter, $59 + tax, GbE, 2500Mbps MoCA 2.5 (bottlenecked)

The above are shipped with a free 2-way splitter, 2 short coaxial cable, and 1 Ethernet cable, I believe.

3) a used G1100 put in bridge mode (extensive config required), less than $40 on Ebay.

Some third party adapters

4) goCoax MA2500D (NOT MA2500C!, this would interfere with MoCA WAN)

5) goCoax WF-803M (bottlenecked)

6) Actiontec ECB6250, ECB7250 (Intel Chip incompatibility)

Of source, an E3200 Fios Extender would work also, but quite overkill unless you want WiFi 6.

Sorry for this wall of text. Happy New Year!

[neil1967]

Wow!  This is fantastic information.  You're right that I'm at 100/100 with the coax.  I would look into running ethernet from the ONT, but physically, I'm sort of stuck.  I don't want to deal with pulling the coax out and running the ethernet up through the floor.  Also, I'm stuck because I definitely don't have the ability to run ethernet up to the second floor bedroom, and so want to use the coax that's already there.  It looks like the one of the MoCA adapters you talked about will be the easiest thing to do.  Thank you again, this is exactly what I needed.   

[dexman]

If the existing coaxial cable that runs from the ONT to the router is loosely installed (not stapled/secured down behind a finished wall), it might be able to be used as a pull rope to allow for an Ethernet cable to be installed.  🤔

[Cang_Household]

You only need to pull an Ethernet cable from the ONT to the router. You can still use the MoCA adapters for the second floor. They are completely separate upgrades you can make. LAN MoCA can achieve 2500Mbps, but WAN MoCA is capped at 175Mbps for technical and administrative reasons. You want to use the Ethernet to replace WAN MoCA.

[Capricorn1]

I have a network setup that does that. I have Ethernet from the ONT to the router, but I use a pair of ECB6200 MoCA adapters to get Ethernet over coax from the router downstairs to a Roku upstairs. I talk about it in this Verizon How-To video if that helps. 

If you like pictures, it's logically laid out like this: