ADSL Bummer (and Closed Source Object Lesson)

Vyatta announced an alpha release of version 6 of their Linux-based router software. I've been using Vyatta version 5 since it was in beta test because they have integrated support for my Sangoma S518 ADSL Modem Card. Before Vyatta version 5 I was using Fedora and manually installing Sangoma's drivers. However, Sangoma's drivers contain binary blobs and I was never able to keep my router from locking up every few days. Vyatta's engineers were able to figure out how to keep my router stable in spite of the binary blobs, which made me very happy. I had Linux on my router/firewall and I didn't have to switch from ADSL to cable modem. My wife was happy because the router didn't crash every couple of days. About the only downside was the confusion my non-standard setup caused my ISP's tech support the few times that I had to call them.

Unfortunately Vyatta will be removing ADSL support from the free version of their software in version 6. I could get a software subscription from Vyatta and keep the ADSL support, but at $750 even the cheapest subscription is way more than I can justify. For now I'll stick with version 5 and keep my ADSL going, but eventually I'll have to look into a different solution.

As far as I know, there are no solutions for ADSL interfaces that have open-source drivers available in the US. If there is a solution I haven't found it yet. I'd rather not go back to installing the Sangoma drivers on top of a standard Fedora install, although that would mean that my router would be based on Fedora again rather than the Debian base that Vyatta uses. Nothing against Debian, but I'm much more comfortable with Fedora since I use it daily on my laptop and other systems I manage. I'd really rather not go back to a cable modem, as I left our cable company for ADSL because I didn't care for how the local cable company did business.

I suppose it's too much to hope that someone will deliver fiber to my door in the next few months...