About
ApprovedModem is run by Caslon Media, a small independent publisher of reference sites that answer one buying question each, from primary sources only.
This site exists because "can I use my own modem" is answered differently by every ISP, the answer moves, and most of what ranks for it is retailer marketing. We read the ISP's page so you don't have to — and link it so you can.
We earn from Amazon affiliate links, disclosed on every page that carries them. Links never change what an ISP permits, and a page for an ISP that doesn't allow customer equipment carries no modem offer for that provider — there's nothing honest to sell you there.
Who runs ApprovedModem
The site is published by Caslon Media, the company of Paulo de Vries in Amsterdam (KvK 64708101). Paulo owns and runs Caslon Media and is responsible for what this site publishes. Questions or corrections: contact page.
Caslon Media, Egelantiersgracht 424, 1015 RR Amsterdam · KvK 64708101 · hello@caslonmedia.com
How these pages are made
- Sources. Each provider page starts from that provider's own published policy page: whether you may use your own modem, the devices it names and what it excludes. The page links that source and shows the date it was last checked. Product details next to a modem come from Amazon's listing for that exact model.
- Writing. The policy records and the page text are drafted with AI assistance, working from those sources. Where a page repeats a provider's rule, it quotes the provider's own wording.
- Checks. Automated checks run on every build before anything goes live. The build stops if a provider record has no publish date, if a buy link does not lead to the Amazon address it was built for, or if the new version would remove more than a tenth of the pages that are live now.
- People. Not every page is read by a person before it goes live. That is why every provider page names its source and shows when it was last checked, so you can confirm the policy yourself.
- Corrections. If a policy has changed or we got something wrong, send the provider's page through the contact page. We check it against that page and fix it on our page.
Paulo's name is not on individual pages: he runs the site but does not write each page himself.
Modems named on the most provider lists
Each of these is named, model for model, on the published lists of the providers under it. Your own provider's page still decides, so check it before you order.
- ARRIS Surfboard S33DOCSIS 3.1 · 2.5 Gbps port · modem onlyPrice as of
Named on the lists ofAstound BroadbandSparklightSpectrumXfinity
See price on Amazon → - Hitron CODA56DOCSIS 3.1 · 2.5 Gbps · no built-in Wi-FiPrice as of
Named on the lists ofArmstrongSparklightSpectrumXfinity
See price on Amazon → - Arris TM3402DOCSIS 3.1 · two phone ports · no built-in Wi-FiPrice as of
Named on the lists ofBlue Ridge CommunicationsBuckeye BroadbandOptimum
See price on Amazon → - Netgear CM3000DOCSIS 3.1 · 2.5 Gbps port · modem onlyPrice as of
Named on the lists ofAstound BroadbandBreezelineMediacom
See price on Amazon →