Do You Rent Your Cable Modem?

Well you can buy another router like the one you have and use it as a repeater....

Universal Repeater – A Simple Way to Extend Your Signal

With ASUS Universal repeater support, you can use the RT-N53 way to repeat your wireless signal to far away locations from the central access point. Scan for the Wi-Fi signal and link to the SSID you want to repeat.
*Please take note that all repeaters, including this Universal Wireless Repeater mode, will sacrifice half of the bandwidth available from the primary router for clients wirelessly connected to the repeater. Currently, the RT-N53 only supports the 2.4GHz repeater setting.

S-E, if he used a hard wire/cable, do you happen to know what type of cable/connections would be required & how long of a run before unacceptable signal loss to maximize bandwidth?

Wiring directly to the modem bypasses the router...

..."As long as you have a high quality cable (Cat 6) within the distance standard, you will run at the proper speed. All pre-made Ethernet cables are within the distance standard, which is 100 meters (330 feet)."...

https://www.quora.com/Will-the-length-of-an-ethernet-cable-connecting-a-modem-and-router-affect-speed

Fireplace, see detail.

Please provide specifications for proper hanging of stockings and stocking hooks. Including size, length and cubic capacity in both metric and imperial units.

Merry Christmas.

JE, I called two Companies about this very matter.

Company (a) says that is Mandatory that I rent their router/modem for $10.00 per month, ( actually what they say is that it is mandatory that I pay $10.00 per month, even if I use my own router/modem)

Company (b) says that I can rent a router from them for $10.00 per month, or I can supply my own.

They both require 802.11

They both upgrade their system once a year, or there abouts.

I figure I can get a usable new unit from Amazon or Walmart for $35-50

Buying my own router puts me ahead of the game, financially.

This is my (UK) experience. I was using a similar setup to yours (BT modem and Netgear Nighthawk router), and experiencing periodic failures to connect to the internet. My provider offered me a new combined modem and router free, but I was in a hurry and got the new Nighthawk router with a built-in modem. Unfortunately my periodic upsets continued. I now suspect that there was nothing wrong with the original setup, but that the broadband server was overloaded and dropping me until I reset the router

I have Comcast service. I replaced their modem and router with Netgear units. But Comcast said my new modem had to have a jack for phone service, since my package of internet, TV and phone required one...even if I don't use it! So I hooked up both my new modem and an old one that had a jack. Then I called Comcast to add the old modem to my account...and got a nice person who said the old one really didn't have to be connected, just as long as it was listed on my account! So I disconnected the old one. Now Comcast is happy with their screwy rules and so am I. The Netgear router is the R6700, but it doesn't seem to have much wifi speed. I ended up running an Ethernet cable from it to my PC. The new "mesh" wifi looks promising for more speed and range.

I might add that if you're going for range you want to be using the 2.4 GHz channel not the 5 GHz one, which is faster but shorter range...

I saw your video. A few questions:

A. It looks like 2.4 was used when the bandwidth was open, but as it has become crowded. Will 5.0 be used until it too, becomes crowded ?

B. The video spoke of a longer and shorter range, but did not give an average distance. Unencumbered by obstacles, what is the maximum range of 2.4 & 5.0 ? ; and is it different for rx & tx ?

C. How to boost rf & gain on 5.0 ? Lowest cost.

A. What the future holds is a shape-shifting entity...

B. ..."A general rule of thumb in home networking says that WiFi routers operating on the traditional 2.4 GHz band reach up to 150 feet (46 m) indoors and 300 feet (92 m) outdoors. Older 802.11a routers that ran on 5 GHz bands reached approximately one-third of these distances."...

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-range-of-the-Wifi-in-5Ghz-and-2-4GHZ

C. There are any number of signal amplifiers on the market...

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/5ghz-amplifier

Some info re mesh wifi: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/what-is-mesh-wifi-router,news-24580.html

A year and a half ago, we had repeated service interruptions which the company said were caused by failure of our owned router. They replaced it with a rental router at $14 a month and no option to buy your own. The service interruptions didn't stop right away, and I suspect they were due to another cause. But the company took advantage to get us on a rental and drive up the cost. We afterwards tried reconnecting our own modem to return the rental, but they refused to connect it.

Thanks to all for the input, output, anecdotes, experience, thoughts and gestures.

It gives me a lot to think about but less than before. I call that a victory.