Technical questions about moving to Helix

mzac · ‎26-04-2021

I've been considering moving to Helix and have a few questions:

- I have Videotron phone service through my Arris TM822 Cable modem - does the Helix unit have a battery backup as well for phone service?

- I would like to put the Helix gateway in Bridge mode as I have a high end commercial grade router and wifi setup; does the Helix gateway provide a true public IP address in bridge mode or is giving out a private RFC1918 IP address? I would like to avoid double NATting.

- In Bridge mode, is native IPv6 available?

- If the technician were to give me the equipment to install myself and replace my TM822, would they also provide the security socket removal tool to remove the security sleeve from the coax?

- Are the security sleeves still required with phone service?

- I currently have 60/10 with my TM822 modem; would it be possible to upgrade to the 100mb Helix plan with my current equipment?

- What is the current upload speed offered with the 100mb Helix plan? It is not listed on the website!

Thanks!

JFrancoisD · ‎29-04-2021

Greetings mzac!

I did some fishing for answers to your questions, so here goes :

1. The Helix Gateway does not have battery backup, but telephone service is not integrated with Helix anyway, so, Helix customers who also have the Residential Telephony service will have the Arris modem still installed to provide the Telephony service.

2. Bridge mode for all intents and purposes disables the "router" portion of the Gateway. Your router will be given a public IP address and all LAN and Wi-Fi functions will be handled by your router. No Double-NAT needed in that mode.

3. Native IPv6 is not currently available on Helix for the time being with the Helix service. It will be enabled in a future update. Bridge mode will have no influence on IPv6. If your router supports native IPv6, once it's enabled on the Helix network, it will be work natively in Bridge mode or not.

4. The auto-installation kit provided either in retail stores or by delivery includes all necessary equipmen to install the Helix service while keeping the Telephony service, including the safety removal tool, a cable splitter and an additional cable segment.

5. Safety sleeves are no longer installed or required, but older installations may still have them.

7. Helix plans require the Helix service and equipment. However, your current modem will still be able to provide the Telephony Service.

8. The maximum upload speed provided with the Helix 100 plan is 30 Mbps,

I hope this helps!

-JFrancoisD

mzac · ‎10-05-2021

Thanks for your answer, just some clarification questions though:

1. Will phone service be provided by Helix in the future? From what I see the equipment does have 2 x RJ11 jacks for phone service.

2. Perfect so you can confirm that if I run a VPN server that my router will have a public IP and I can VPN in without any issues?

3. Great news for IPv6 native, I had heard from a source that it was coming, but do you have any rough timeline? Do you know what size prefixes will be distributed?

8. It would be great to add the upload speed to the Videotron website, no where is this mentioned! Especially with so many people working from home these days, upload speeds are becoming more important as more people are doing video conferencing. For example at this URL there is no mention at all: https://videotron.com/en/shop/helix-plans/unlimited-internet/100mbps-plan

Also, does Videotron offer any other DOCSIS 3.1 compliant modems other than the Technicolor 4331X gateway?

CedrikS · ‎18-05-2021

Hi mzac,

Regarding your questions, we will try to answer them the best of our knowledge:

1- For the residential phone service, it is something that could come to the Helix gateway but we do not have an ETA on that right now.

2- As for a VPN, it will work if you go through your own router ( bridge mode ).

3- Regarding IPV6, it is kind of new and not all customers are getting this type of address. The only information I do have for now is through the following link: https://support.videotron.com/residential/internet/monitor-usage/ipv6

8- We will note your interest for future developments of our website but yes, it would be great to view the upload on the website!

As for your last question, the only modem working with DOCIS 3.1 is the Technicolor TC4400 and also our Helix gateways.

Thank you!

VincentRoyal · ‎24-09-2023

Hello @CedrikS,

I was wondering if the Technicolor TC4400-AM is compatible with the Gigabit Offer.

I currently have it with the 400Mbps offer and I love it ( no isssue at all and very stable).

I think about moving to the 1Gbps offer but I don't want the Helix box because I have my own setup (Asus Aimesh)

Thanks for your help