Is DOCSIS 3.1 worth it?

[Digerati]

Is upgrading your cable modem from a DOCSIS 3.0 model to a new DOCSIS 3.1 modem worth it? It depends on your current service.

I recently started getting bombarded with a bunch of emails from my ISP (Cox) claiming, "You're missing out on faster internet!" and "Your modem is slowing you down!" So I looked into it and decided my 9 year-old Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 modem was getting a bit long in the tooth.

I ordered a new Motorola MB8611 DOCSIS 3.1 modem and installed it yesterday.

But just before installing the new modem, I ran Speedtest with the old modem and got the following results:

Download Mbps: 180.05​

Upload Mbps: 9.8​

Latency: 8ms​

Now with the new modem:

Download Mbps: 296.77​

Upload Mbps: 12.75​

Latency: 5ms​

When I saw that 164.8% improvement in download speeds, I got mad - at myself for not upgrading earlier. Those were speeds I was paying for, but not getting because my old modem was indeed, "slowing me down".

So, was it worth spending $190 on a new modem? Considering I was already paying for that significantly faster speed, I say a resounding, "YES!"

Oh, BTW - I definitely recommend buying your own network gear (separate modem and router, or integrated "residential gateway" device) rather than renting from your ISP. No doubt, had I been renting that old modem, I would have paid for it several times over. Considering the average cost of modem rental here is $10 - $15/month (depending on device and service agreement), this new one will be paid for in rental fee savings in less than 2 years. Plus, its 100% mine - no backdoors for the ISP to sneak in without my permission. And I am not footing the bill to provide a "hotspot" for a bunch of unknown other users - but that's for a different discussion.

 

[xrobwx71]

The newer modems also come with more "pipes". Cable Modems Explained: Upstream/Downstream Channels | Learn

I'd say yes as it also future proofs you for a while.

 

[A Guy]

Your ISP must be limiting top speed for 8 channel modems and now you can get it with your 32 channel one that happens to be 3.1. In theory the SB6141 should be good up to a download speed of 343 Mbps and an upload speed of 131 Mbps. This is not the actual speed and yours would not reach the 297 Mbps you get now in any case. I have a DOCSIS 3.0 SB6190 (32 down as well) and get my full speed (better than actually) of 400 (get 480) Mbps and an upload speed of 12 Mbps (Xfinity and their ridiculous upload speeds). If you are going to switch, then makes sense to get the latest DOCSIS version, but it alone isn't the reason for your speed. 3.0 is 1 Gb/s 200 Mb/s. 3.1 is 10 Gb/s 1-2 Gb/s. DOCSIS 4.0 supposed to be released by years end although support won't be for a while. It is up to 10 Gbps down and up to 6 Gbps up

A Guy

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[Digerati]

In theory the SB6141 should be good up to a download speed of 343 Mbps

Yeah, I noted that too. I also noted "in theory", DOCSIS 3.0 is capable of DL speeds "up to" 1000Mbps. Either way, when 3.1 was implemented here in my area, I did some research and I assumed (I hate that word - always circles around and bites me in the a$$) I was already getting the maximum speeds possible with the SB6141 because my service agreement stated speeds "up to" 150Mbps.

So, I was lulled into a false sense of happiness and satisfaction because (1) I was not experiencing any buffering watching videos on my computer, or while streaming with Netflix and my Roku device, and (2) I was already getting better than 150Mbps with speeds ~180Mbps. That is the primary reason I didn't upgrade my modem earlier- that and the fact I don't have a bunch of teenagers in the house, all streaming at the same time.

As far as upload speeds, for what I do, ~12Mbps is not a restriction so, while ridiculous, that does not bother me.

One of our problems here (those in my neighborhood) is that we live in the oldest, still existing "settlement" is all of Nebraska. Point being, my neighborhood is old, and fully developed with no room for expansion. That means there is no incentive for any ISP to put fiber in this area - even though fiber is going in all around us as developers consume farm acreage for new housing developments.

So, we are stuck with copper. Oh well.

As to your comment about Cox "limiting" speeds - I don't think they are intentionally limiting speeds. Rather, I think they just are not investing the resources to support the higher speeds for what is now "legacy" DOCSIS 3.0. They are like Microsoft, HP, Gigabyte and every other IT company - they would rather everyone upgrade to the latest and greatest so they no longer have to support legacy/superseded products and technologies - support for which there is no return on their investments.

 

[Maxstar]

My ISP (Ziggo cable) forced me to replace the Cisco EPC3928AD modem/router I was still using. Within two weeks, I had to replace my old modem with the new one (an Connect Box), which was sent by my ISP for free though. I thought this would be a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, but it is still a DOCSIS 3.0 model.

Cisco EPC3928AD
- Download Mbps: 302.63
- Upload Mbps: 30.85
- Latency: 17ms (Ookla result)

Connect Box
- Download Mbps: 358.63
- Upload Mbps: 36.12
- Latency: 13ms (Ookla result)

In the Netherlands we can use an own modem since 2021, but without any guarantees or support, as well as no guarantees on signal and network speeds. This is the reason why I still use devices provided by my ISP instead of own equipement...

 

[Digerati]

In the Netherlands we can use an own modem since 2021, but without any guarantees or support, as well as no guarantees on signal and network speeds. This is the reason why I still use devices provided by my ISP instead of own equipement...

That's how it is here too. So I always buy my own network gear. But as you noted, I have to provide the support for my equipment. The ISP only has to ensure they are providing the agreed upon speeds to and from my modem - or actually to the PoE (point of entry) to my home.

Fortunately - for me - a falling tree branch during a storm took out my cable drop a few years ago. The tech ran a brand new cable from the pole and I told him I would take responsibility to terminate the cable on my end, if he left me some extra cable. Because they were swamped with service calls due to the storm, he was happy to do so. So I have a continuous run from the pole, through my exterior wall and up into the closet in my computer room. From there, there is a 2-way splitter with one "Out" going to my modem, and the other "Out" feeding all the TVs in the house.

The cable providers will indeed provide a "residential gateway" device (integrated modem, wireless access point and router) if we don't want to provide our own. While it may appear to be a "free", it is not. The rental fee is rolled up into the total cost.

The FCC Requires ISPs to Disclose All Fees but their marketing weenies and shysters have done a great job of making those disclosures nearly impossible to decipher.