first , this review be base on my cable service , Comcast . this unit work flawlessly on Comcast . this unit effectively double both my down\/upstream speed from my older -lrb- year -rrb- DOCSIS 2 unit , which I might add I be pay a monthly lease for - yeah , I know , why do I wait this long ?! from + \/ - 20m to about + \/ - 38m downstream , and from 2m to + \/ - 8m upstream . directly hook up to unit , of course ... which mean that any degradation you experience when you use other\/wireless unit later on be not because of this unit nor you cable service ... Install be a no-brainer - there be nothing to `` install '' . attach the coax cable to the unit , the include Ethernet cable -lrb- yes , it do have one include -rrb- to you pc\/laptop , and finally plug the power source . you 'll see the MAC address in the unit and in the `` documentation '' -lrb- its just a flyer , really -rrb- . you 'll need it when you call you cable isp provider -lrb- for `` activation '' on they network -rrb- . from box to go : 5 minute - most of it spend call you provider and have they `` find '' you modem -lrb- via the MAC address -rrb- and `` add '' it to they network .