said by karimkb:can you still log into the cyberonic modem/router after its set to run in bridged mode and you're using your own router?
connect my modem to a NID? whats a NID?
I don't know about the Netopia, but with the BroadXent, yes, you can log in in bridged mode. I have one of the four ethernet ports connected to a port on my switch, and I set an alternate private IP address on the modem that is in the subnet of my computer. The only problem with this arrangement, however, is that I have to be careful when I reboot my router, since I think it tries to pull an IP address from the modem rather than from Cyberonic, and it gets confused. I'm sure I can fix this, but I haven't tried.
A NID is the "Network Interface Device" -- i.e., the box usually on an outside wall of your house where the phone company's wires connect to your inside wiring. If you open that, you will usually find a test jack. Remove the plug from the jack (which will cut off phone service inside) and plug your modem in there. Now your modem is connected directly to phone company wires, bypassing your inside wiring. You may, of course, need a long phone extension cord to get your modem close to power and to your computer. You can then set up a PPPoE client on your computer (XP has one built in) in order to bypass your router. The best way to do a speed test is to do an FTP download of a very large file, from a known fast server, and do it in the middle of the night. If you need further suggestions (e.g., for the FTP server), let me know.