I don't believe there is a way to hook up two modems to the wiring and have them function independently. You might be able to use one in a "repeater" mode, though, and that could possibly be done wirelessly. There are also specific repeater devices you can get to extend the signal, and that might be easier to do. I suggest you contact the manufacturer of your modem to ask what is possible with that specific model, and whether they sell a repeater device that would be easier to set up than a second router. By the way, have you confirmed that the streaming does not work well, or is that just a statement in the manual? By the way, I have a similar situation. I have a DSL modem with a 3MB signal that is connected to a router in an upstairs closet; my tv system is in the living room downstairs. I have an older DVD player without a streaming capability, but wanted to be able to stream Netflix movies. I bought the Roku wireless device that Netflix sells, plugged it in to the back of my tv as an additional input, and set up the connection in about 2 minutes. I am able to get maximum quality every time I use it unless someone else is using a computer in another part of the house, in which case picture quality drops down a little.

I would think that any name brand wireless router will work fine. I have a DSL modem supplied by the phone company, and a 4-port Belkin Pre-N wireless router I bought separately a couple of years ago. The incoming signal goes to the modem, and then an Ethernet cable goes to the router. Hard wired devices plug into the ports in the back of the modem via Ethernet cable. My router can handle 4 hard-wired devices, and 32 wireless devices. I have 4 PCs hooked up to it (1 wired, 3 wireless), a Roku box (wireless), and a printer (wireless). The only thing to keep in mind about cable is that speeds can vary depending on how many people in the neighborhood are online at any given time. DSL is a constant speed, and since mine is 3 Mbps, that's enough for me. Have you checked to see whether your DSL supplier can provide a higher speed? Last year, my speed was 1.5 Mbps and I asked if they had anything higher in my area. They said they had 3.0 available for the same price. When I asked why they hadn't just bumped up my speed, they said they were only allowed to change my account if I called to request and authorize it first! I said: Who wouldn't want twice the speed for the same price? They said they just wanted to be sure this was something I wanted! At any rate, 10 seconds later I had twice the speed. Lastly, since you're mixing PCs and Macs on your system, I don't know if that would cause any problems. I have have friends with Macs who visit and they can get on my system (when I give them my security code) with no problem. However, if you are switching providers, you should ask first if there could be any problems.

Thanks for the information, jemdandy ! I'll look into it. Btw, I've only had DSL for less than a week now and already noticed a strange behavior from the computer. If I get up in the middle of the night or early in the morning, the computer's on -- sometimes just plain 'on' and sometimes in stand-by mode, but in either case the monitor's off. One night I tried just unplugging the phone line, but the same thing happened. Then I tried also turning off the modem, but the computer still popped out of hibernation sometime during the night. And one morning I only noticed the computer on when I got up at 7 a.m., so it had likely been on for hours without going off again. I know some programs (like AV) can be set up to do automatic updating and/or scanning during the night, but, since I was on dial-up, I had all setting (AV, Windows Updates, etc.) set to do manually. I don't know why this is happening. I'd hate to have to resort to unplugging the modem itself from the power strip every night just to prevent this (not that I really have to). So, just wondering... is this behavior because of some automatic scheduling -- perhaps as part of the Verizon service itself (though I'm not using their AV, anti-malware software) ? Thanks ! Scott

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is carried on the upper bandwidth of a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line. This is why you can be on the Internet via your DSL connection and still carry on a telephone conversation even though you only have one phone line. If you aren't using a DSL filter, you shouldn't really be hearing static on the line. It would be more of a steady "hissing" sound. And if you do have a DSL filter, properly installed, then the DSL shouldn't cause any extra sounds on your POTS line. If I were you, I'd do the following -- first, have your husband disconnect the red wire that he connected to the other red wire. Any problems caused by the problem on the line on the highway wouldn't have anything to do with the red wires, so if your service was OK previously without those being connected (and because your husband doesn't really know what he connected), they should be undone. Then, check to see if the static has been eliminated. If you still have static after the red wires are undone, then physically unplug EVERY phone in the house from the jacks. Then, one by one, plug in a phone and check to see if there is static. Often a phone will "go bad" and cause static.