Good question, Andrew. This topology seems to be what I needed based on the equipment I was able to track down. The coax will (depending on the installation) either be in the basement or coming out of an existing coax port already used for cable TV (I'm not sure exactly how this works; is the [analog] cable TV available simulatneously at the same jack as the broadband connectin, and the signals are multiplexed, or does a separate cable need to be run from the amplifier ont he telephone pole? More ignoracne on my part....) In either case, the computers are up on the second floor of my house, so running a hard-wired connection between the cable modem and the computer(s) is out of the question. Hence the wireless. I've seen boxes that allow you to run the coax directly to a card on the computer, then wireless to the other computers in the installation, making the computer the router (of sorts) and the WAP. This topology wouldn't work here.

[link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=196834|Peter drew this picture] which seems to fit the model of how I need to hook this proposed system up. for the purposes of this discussion consider the cable modem and router in the basement, and the computers on the second floor.

Is this what you were looking for in an answer?

...for a "small monthly fee". My purpose in looking at the BEFCMU10 (or equiv) is to eliminate that "small monthly fee". In Peter's picture, that cable modem is the Motorola SurfBoard. I believe that the BEFCMU10 replaces that in my proposed layout.

Other than that, I'm with you....