From what I had read, the DM200's chipset, the Intel/Lantiq XRX200, supports up to gigabit speeds, in both VDSL2 and ethernet.
Other than the firmware blobs, is there actually something that prevents the DM200 from reaching gigabit speeds?
On another note, looking at my DM200 (currently disassembled, until I manage to debrick it), it's modem and ethernet ports both lack about half the pins, which while I realize are not all required for it to function properly, could soldering the missing pins, in conjuction with loading the gigabit firmware blobs, theoretically allow for gigabit networking on the DM200?
I am sorry, however I do not understand what you mean.
While in my immediate area, the most that is possible is ~36Mbt/s (we pay for 40), and right next to it it is possible to get ~85-90Mbt/s (I have not had the chance to test this myself, due to lack of time at my friends' house), in some parts of my country it is possible to get up to 200Mbt/s over VDSL2.
If you mean the hardware of my PCs and local network, I can assure you that for the most part, I am ready for gigabit networking.
Thank you for confirming my suspicions as to the ethernet header.
You are partially right, modifying the PCB is not reasonable, however it is possible (and I am trying to look at the possibility of only having to modify the headers).
I do not understand, the SoC supports up to 1Gbt/s, however the VDSL2 header also is missing some of the pins.
Update: Sorry, I had completely misunderstood the VDSL2 capabilities.
It turns out that theoretically the DM200 should only manage up to 200Mbt/s, however that is still enough in my opinion to justify modding it, since it will prevent us from having to buy another modem for the next 5+ years (my country rolls out new technology extremely slowly, due to the fact that the only company which is allowed to provide electricity, also is the body that actually regulates everything to do with that, to the point that without their approval, even the ministry of communications cannot allow new technologies).
Thank you very much, however the reason why I an not getting more than ~36Mbt/s is because our ISP has still not upgraded the equipment in our area (I can literally go up to the building where it is in a matter of minutes, since it is only a few hundreds of meters away).
My area is still reliant on VDSL, while my friends' area has already been upgraded to VDSL2.
From what I understand, so long as the blobs support more than 100Mbt/s, the DM200 should be connected to the ISP at that speed (disregarding speed dictated by ethernet)?
There's also the matter of what your ISP offers and provisions for your line. Typically the head-end equipment will make a choice of modulation schemes based on not only the characteristics of the line, but potentially based on the contract with the subscriber. The head end typically also controls the modem through TR-069, putting the modem's configuration out of your hands.
Thank you very much, that document helped me quite a bit.
It turns out that I may be on VDSL2, however on a lower profile than my friends (I am keeping tabs on my ISP's rollout in my area, so in any case, I know that my area simply does not have the required equiment).
You are correct as to the differences between offering and provisioning, which is why I speak with my ISPs technical support more often than most customers (I can happily say that they are way more technologically apt than most technical support teams I have spoken with), in addition to conducting independent tests.
What I am trying to do, is merely to make sure that on the client side (i.e. the DM200), the necessary support is there, since that is in my hands.
Woefully out of date right now, however I just wanted to close this with a conclusion so others won't try modding their DM200s for this.
I have since properly inspected the board, and there are only 4 traces, so even modifying the RJ-45 port to add the rest of the contacts wont do any good in this regard.
Edit: Mistakenly typed RJ-11 instead of RJ-45. Fixed