Can you have two internet providers in one house reddit

Yes, you should be able to have more than one ISP. The configuration requirements are what will determine how complicated it gets. I have two lines with one dedicated for me, but I have the ability use the first line's network printer, Internet connection, and stream to Roku, without my having to switch network cabling or wifi, and still having all of my traffic sent out the second line.

• If you have DSL and are looking for a second DSL line, you may need to get a second phone line, which might mean new house wiring if your home only has wiring for one line. You might need to have a separate account.

• If its two cable lines, you'll need to split from where the first modem goes, which could cause enough signal losses to keep either one from working properly (could be fixed by a second drop from the pole, but that's if it's available / possible). You may need to have a separate account.

• if they're two separate providers, you'll just need to consider wiring to the place where the modem will be placed. They will definitely be separate accounts.

• For your home network with the new connection, if you need to print or use other home devices from both networks, you'll need to decide if you'll upgrade to a router with dual WAN, or rig together multi-homing. If your gaming stuff will stay 100% separate, then just get the new line, wire it to your gaming rig, and you're done.

• Dual WAN routers aren't crazy expensive, but will be a little confusing to set up if you haven't done it before. Your cheapest option will be an EdgeRouter Lite ($50), but will require you to reconfigure your current wifi to act as a wifi Access Point. Other brands usually start around $150 for their dual WAN offerings, and most do not have wifi. Shop around. You should be able to tweak the config so that your gaming computer is the only one that has traffic forwarded out the new line, but that's not always the case.

• Multi-homing is simple. Say your existing router is 192.168.1.1 with DHCP serving address on the network. Make the new ISP router 192.168.1.254 with DHCP off, then connect the two routers LAN to LAN. If you simply connect a computer to the network, the current router will tell all devices to send traffic to it and out the current line. Your gaming devices will need a static LAN IP with the IP gateway set to the new router 192.168.1.254. All devices should be able to see each other, but your gaming PC will be the only one sending traffic out the new line. If you do it wrong, you may just end up on the old line while paying for the new line for nothing.

I hope it was simple and thorough. If you have more questions, let me know. It can be as complicated or as simple as you need.

Backstory:

• I am a tenant of a house (in Ontario, Canada) whose landlord is very stubborn about upgrading his internet package

• Landlord "claims" there is still one year left on a three-year internet package contract

• We (the tenants) would like to upgrade to something faster than 80/10mbps internet speeds for an 8-person household

Would it be possible for me to buy my own internet package (can be from a different ISP if necessary), swap out the modem in my house, and use my own internet, without having to add any additional internet cables to the house (i.e. use the existing cable that the house is connected to)?

I would be perfectly fine with having two internet packages in the house, with one being completely unused/disconnected.

I found this Reddit post, but it only discusses two working internet packages, not one working and one unused: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/34itpb/can_i_have_two_separate_internet_connections_in/