gamer4life wroteWhat if I needed the vdsl speeds? Would it work with a separate wifi router? And what is GPON?
Cheaper VDSL modems are often unable to handle the load incurred by a multitude of open connections and wireless devices in a home. On the other hand, high-end combo devices (modem, router, switch, access point) are often outrageously expensive, probably due to the convenience they present to the end user of having a single device that does it all.
Buying a cheaper VDSL modem, setting up bridging, and having a midrange / high-end router handle connections (and wireless devices if it includes an access point) is often cheaper, more flexible, and more robust. The modem can handle VDSL's physical link speed (it's made to do that), and the advantage is that if you establish a PPPoE connection over your VDSL line, the modem will simply be doing modulation / demodulation (hence modem) on your VDSL line, assembling packets, and forwarding them to your router's Ethernet interface (or even doing cut-through without waiting for the packet to be complete, unsure).
If you want more wireless range, you can buy extra access points and have them only serve their purpose.
If you want higher-speed file transfers between devices, you can buy extra switches / faster access points.
If you want to handle a higher number of connections, host extra services on your router (such as a VPN), or ensure you receive security updates on time (if you're not behind a NAT firewall and have services exposed on your local network to the Internet), you can upgrade your router or run custom firmware on it (e.g. OpenWRT, or pfsense if you're using a compatible processor architecture).
If any device fails, you can simply just replace that device on its own without disturbing the rest of your network.
Usually, these kinds of setups can easily have months / years of uptime if they're on a UPS.
@nuclearcat feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any point.