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TLDR: simple answer, you probably need a Keystone Jack Coupler - SC Simplex Singlemode Adapter
The rest of the story ……
I haven’t seen Rogers fibre installation, but, there was a previous post indicating that a Rogers tech used an existing Bell fibre cable to install Rogers services. Going on that post, it appears that Rogers uses simplex single mode 9/125 fibre cable with SC/APC connectors. So, if you were to run a fibre cable to a wallplate, you would need a Keystone wallplate and a Keystone Jack Coupler - SC Simplex Singlemode Adapter such as the following for keystone wallplates:
Now, that’s making an assumption that the tech will install an SC/APC connector onto the inbound fibre cable, and then use a fibre coupler to connect a 9/125 fibre drop cable which has its own SC/APC connectors, which is then run to some location in the home. That is what Bell does. The internal fibre drop cable is an armored cable which is very flexible compared to the external fibre cable. So, its very easy to install the drop cable. That cable would run up to the wallplate's fibre coupler and on the other side of the wallplate would be a shorter drop cable to run to the Optical Network Terminal (ONT). The ONT then connects to the modem’s port 4 via ethernet cable.
Port 4 on the XB8 modem is an auto sensing WAN/LAN port. Its also the only port capable of supporting 2.5 Gb/s and the only port that is firewall capable for installations such as fibre installations. In that configuration, the requirement to use port 4 to connect to the ONT forces the customer to use ports 1 to 3 to run ethernet from the modem. Those ports are limited to 1 Gb/s, so, if you plan to use or subscribe to speeds higher than 1 Gb/s, you’re not going to get that out of the modem via ports 1 to 3.
In a cable installation, port 4 serves as a LAN port, capable of supporting up to 2.5 Gb/s.
Fwiw, techs seem to prefer to take the shortest path to complete a fibre installation. That can result in installing the ONT in the basement, with the result that the modem would also end up in the basement, which is the worst place in the house for a modem, especially if you plan to use the modem’s wifi on the main or even second floor of your home.
There are two ways out of this.
- If you have already have ethernet in the home you could park the ONT in the basement, connect it to an ethernet run upstairs and park the modem wherever you have an ethernet port. If you plan to use ethernet throughout the home, that requires another ethernet run back down to the basement, connected to an ethernet switch, which in turn connects to the other ethernet cables in the home. It all depends on whether or not you need ethernet capability throughout the home. You could also leave the modem in the basement, connect that to an ethernet switch and then to the other ethernet cables. So, it depends on what your requirements are.
- You could use a drop cable, with an SC Female to SC Female APC Simplex Single Mode Fiber Optical Coupler to connect to the inbound fibre cable. That drop cable could be run to a location on the main floor, drilling up from the basement into a wallspace. Rogers will not fish cables, so, in that regard, you’re on your own. You can do that yourself or call someone in to fish the cable.
Note that I’m assuming that the tech will want to drill into the basement to run the fibre cable, but, he or she could also drill thru the wall on the main floor and simply mount a keystone wallplate on the external wall. Where it goes from there is up to you.
So, to really figure this out, you need to look at that external fibre drop and see how much cable there is to play with. That will determine where the cable might enter the home. The tech might just cut the cable so that it runs to the external Rogers box (Network Interface Device), connect the drop cable within the box using an optical coupler (connector) and run the drop cable to some entry point in the home. That drop cable comes in multiple prepared lengths, so, its just a matter selecting the right cable length for the installation. I’d strongly advise anyone with inbound cable services to figure out where the best entry point is, and if necessary, be prepared to drill the necessary holes in advance. If the cable requires fishing through walls, do that work ahead of time and leave a pull string in place to pull the fibre cable to the desired location. Personal opinion, its better for you to figure this out, and do the least amount of damage to your home. If you can keep the cable hidden in the floors and walls until it reaches its final location, you win.
What you could do is plan out the installation, in terms of where the inbound cable enters the home and where you prefer the ONT and modem to sit. If you need a drop cable to run up from the basement into a main floor wall, you could drill the hole into the main floor wallspace ahead of time, and the tech could run an appropriate length drop cable up to the wallplate. If you happen to cross paths with a Rogers tech on your daily outings, you could stop and ask for a roll of fibre drop cable to install ahead of time and run that yourself up from the basement to the main floor.
All of this depends on what you’re planning for the ONT and modem location. So, depending on what goes where, you either need keystone wallplate and fibre connector, or, you need an ethernet port at a suitable location. And, you need to determine if you need ethernet capability throughout the home. If so, and you plan to run a fibre cable up from the basement, you could also run a Cat 6 or better ethernet cable up to the same keystone, giving you the second ethernet run down to an ethernet switch. There are a number of variables here to plan for future use and growth. If you can do that planning well before the tech arrives to install the ONT, you’ll be well ahead of the game.
And yes, you can connect the XBx set top box via ethernet, but, with the Rogers modem up and running the two of them will still communicate via wifi and poor wifi connectivity can present problems with the set top box. The modem's wifi operates no matter what mode the modem is operating in, its default Gateway modem or Bridge mode. There are reports of customers replacing the modem with their own router and running the set top boxes without any issues.
Hope this helps.
Edit: note that Rogers has wifi pods available and apparently these pods can connect to the modem via ethernet. That has been mentioned in the past but very few customers appear to take advantage of that. So, if wifi coverage with the modem is an issue, then Rogers has pods available. From what you indicated, you already have your own mesh network, so, the question is where does the inbound fibre ONT meet the mesh network? That's one of those details to work out.
Edit 2: Don't drop your satellite TV service until the Rogers Ignite TV service is up and running and you're satisfied with its performance and content.
Edit 3: The installed system will probably look like this:
Inbound Fibre Cable >> Fibre Coupler >> Fibre Drop Cable >> Optical Network Terminal >> ethernet >> Modem >> ethernet >> router ?? >> Network
Or, it could look like this:
Inbound Fibre Cable >> Fibre Coupler >> Fibre Drop Cable >> Optical Network Terminal >> ethernet >> router >> network
TLDR: simple answer, you probably need a Keystone Jack Coupler - SC Simplex Singlemode Adapter
The rest of the story ……
I haven’t seen Rogers fibre installation, but, there was a previous post indicating that a Rogers tech used an existing Bell fibre cable to install Rogers services. Going on that post, it appears that Rogers uses simplex single mode 9/125 fibre cable with SC/APC connectors. So, if you were to run a fibre cable to a wallplate, you would need a Keystone wallplate and a Keystone Jack Coupler - SC Simplex Singlemode Adapter such as the following for keystone wallplates:
Now, that’s making an assumption that the tech will install an SC/APC connector onto the inbound fibre cable, and then use a fibre coupler to connect a 9/125 fibre drop cable which has its own SC/APC connectors, which is then run to some location in the home. That is what Bell does. The internal fibre drop cable is an armored cable which is very flexible compared to the external fibre cable. So, its very easy to install the drop cable. That cable would run up to the wallplate's fibre coupler and on the other side of the wallplate would be a shorter drop cable to run to the Optical Network Terminal (ONT). The ONT then connects to the modem’s port 4 via ethernet cable.
Port 4 on the XB8 modem is an auto sensing WAN/LAN port. Its also the only port capable of supporting 2.5 Gb/s and the only port that is firewall capable for installations such as fibre installations. In that configuration, the requirement to use port 4 to connect to the ONT forces the customer to use ports 1 to 3 to run ethernet from the modem. Those ports are limited to 1 Gb/s, so, if you plan to use or subscribe to speeds higher than 1 Gb/s, you’re not going to get that out of the modem via ports 1 to 3.
In a cable installation, port 4 serves as a LAN port, capable of supporting up to 2.5 Gb/s.
Fwiw, techs seem to prefer to take the shortest path to complete a fibre installation. That can result in installing the ONT in the basement, with the result that the modem would also end up in the basement, which is the worst place in the house for a modem, especially if you plan to use the modem’s wifi on the main or even second floor of your home.
There are two ways out of this.
- If you have already have ethernet in the home you could park the ONT in the basement, connect it to an ethernet run upstairs and park the modem wherever you have an ethernet port. If you plan to use ethernet throughout the home, that requires another ethernet run back down to the basement, connected to an ethernet switch, which in turn connects to the other ethernet cables in the home. It all depends on whether or not you need ethernet capability throughout the home. You could also leave the modem in the basement, connect that to an ethernet switch and then to the other ethernet cables. So, it depends on what your requirements are.
- You could use a drop cable, with an SC Female to SC Female APC Simplex Single Mode Fiber Optical Coupler to connect to the inbound fibre cable. That drop cable could be run to a location on the main floor, drilling up from the basement into a wallspace. Rogers will not fish cables, so, in that regard, you’re on your own. You can do that yourself or call someone in to fish the cable.
Note that I’m assuming that the tech will want to drill into the basement to run the fibre cable, but, he or she could also drill thru the wall on the main floor and simply mount a keystone wallplate on the external wall. Where it goes from there is up to you.
So, to really figure this out, you need to look at that external fibre drop and see how much cable there is to play with. That will determine where the cable might enter the home. The tech might just cut the cable so that it runs to the external Rogers box (Network Interface Device), connect the drop cable within the box using an optical coupler (connector) and run the drop cable to some entry point in the home. That drop cable comes in multiple prepared lengths, so, its just a matter selecting the right cable length for the installation. I’d strongly advise anyone with inbound cable services to figure out where the best entry point is, and if necessary, be prepared to drill the necessary holes in advance. If the cable requires fishing through walls, do that work ahead of time and leave a pull string in place to pull the fibre cable to the desired location. Personal opinion, its better for you to figure this out, and do the least amount of damage to your home. If you can keep the cable hidden in the floors and walls until it reaches its final location, you win.
What you could do is plan out the installation, in terms of where the inbound cable enters the home and where you prefer the ONT and modem to sit. If you need a drop cable to run up from the basement into a main floor wall, you could drill the hole into the main floor wallspace ahead of time, and the tech could run an appropriate length drop cable up to the wallplate. If you happen to cross paths with a Rogers tech on your daily outings, you could stop and ask for a roll of fibre drop cable to install ahead of time and run that yourself up from the basement to the main floor.
All of this depends on what you’re planning for the ONT and modem location. So, depending on what goes where, you either need keystone wallplate and fibre connector, or, you need an ethernet port at a suitable location. And, you need to determine if you need ethernet capability throughout the home. If so, and you plan to run a fibre cable up from the basement, you could also run a Cat 6 or better ethernet cable up to the same keystone, giving you the second ethernet run down to an ethernet switch. There are a number of variables here to plan for future use and growth. If you can do that planning well before the tech arrives to install the ONT, you’ll be well ahead of the game.
And yes, you can connect the XBx set top box via ethernet, but, with the Rogers modem up and running the two of them will still communicate via wifi and poor wifi connectivity can present problems with the set top box. The modem's wifi operates no matter what mode the modem is operating in, its default Gateway modem or Bridge mode. There are reports of customers replacing the modem with their own router and running the set top boxes without any issues.
Hope this helps.
Edit: note that Rogers has wifi pods available and apparently these pods can connect to the modem via ethernet. That has been mentioned in the past but very few customers appear to take advantage of that. So, if wifi coverage with the modem is an issue, then Rogers has pods available. From what you indicated, you already have your own mesh network, so, the question is where does the inbound fibre ONT meet the mesh network? That's one of those details to work out.
Edit 2: Don't drop your satellite TV service until the Rogers Ignite TV service is up and running and you're satisfied with its performance and content.
Edit 3: The installed system will probably look like this:
Inbound Fibre Cable >> Fibre Coupler >> Fibre Drop Cable >> Optical Network Terminal >> ethernet >> Modem >> ethernet >> router ?? >> Network
Or, it could look like this:
Inbound Fibre Cable >> Fibre Coupler >> Fibre Drop Cable >> Optical Network Terminal >> ethernet >> router >> network
Can you run a pull string from the NID to the wall plate. A vacuum cleaner at the wall plate should make that very easy to pull the string to the wallplate. Just have to keep feeding it into the NID end to keep it rolling.
With the pull string in the conduit, it would take just a few minutes to pull the fibre cable to the wallplate.
The tech should have all of the wallplates and keystones on hand. That's an assumption on my part.
Ah, thinking way ahead of the game....
The ONT to modem installation is done via ethernet. It will look like this:
Inbound fibre drop cable with SC/APC connector >> Wallplate with Keystone Jack Coupler - SC Simplex Singlemode Adapter >> Drop cable with SC/APC connector >> ONT >> ethernet >> modem >> router >>
Underfloor Drop Cable >> wallplate >> short Drop Cable >> ONT >> ethernet >> modem >> router >>
or
Inbound fibre drop cable with SC/APC connector >> Wallplate with Keystone Jack Coupler - SC Simplex Singlemode Adapter >> Drop cable with SC/APC connector >> ONT >> ethernet >> router >>
Underfloor Drop Cable >> wallplate >> short Drop Cable >> ONT >> ethernet >> router >>
The tech should have everything from short 3 or 5 metre drop cables up to 50 metre (or more) drop cables, so, its a simple matter of grabbing the right underfloor Drop Cable and in house Drop Cable from the truck, as required for the two lengths.
Sounds like you're pretty well prepared. Note that the XBx set top boxes require IPv6 to operate correctly. If you already run IPv6 on your network then you're all set.
If you need the settings for IPv6, Rogers uses Native IPv6. Here's a link to an old post that includes IPv6 settings for various routers. It will be a matter of applying the same settings to your main router:
If you happen to be an IPv6 user already, note that Rogers only supplies a /64 for fibre operations. With typical cable installations, you can request a /56 via the router setting. This point has been brought up several times with no response from Rogers.
Yup, that shouldn't be difficult. When the Archer IPv6 settings are saved, reboot the router so that the router can receive the IPv6 prefix from the Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS). I'm assuming that the CMTS is still involved in the system, despite the physical data carriage over fibre instead of cable. I'm making an assumption here that you're going to use the router inplace of the modem. In that configuration, the router receives from / negotiates with the upstream CMTS for any required IP addresses.
There are two types of set top boxes in use today, the Xi6-A and Xi6-T, and the newer XiOne.
The install links are found on the following page:
Setup & Install - Help and Support - Rogers
Correct, as @-G- suggested in the other thread, connect the system with the Rogers modem, as intended. Get the Xi6 or XiOne set top box up and running. When you're satisfied that the fibre system operates as intended, then you can remove the modem, connect the ONT to the router, set the IPv6 settings and reboot the router. The set top box should operate as intended even though its missing the hidden wifi networks from the (uninstalled) modem. You should end up with this:
Underfloor Drop Cable >> Wallplate >> Short Drop Cable >> ONT >> Ethernet >> Router >> Network
@Jayzz looking at the specs for your TP-Link Archer C80, it has gigabit WAN and LAN ports, so, you're probably better off connecting to modem's port 1 to 3, which are also gigabit ports. With a fibre installation, you won't have any choice due to the ONT to Modem Port 4 connection.
Note that in the case of a fibre installation, where the ONT connects to the modem via port 4 of the modem, you can't run the modem in Bridge mode. The firmware won't allow that.
So that means that you have to either run the router in full router mode so that you really have full control over your network, or, flip the router into Bridge (?) mode, which will probably result in unintentional network changes for your mesh network. Leaving the router in full router mode might be the easiest thing to do initially, until you determine that its time to pull the modem out of the network.
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