Customer premises equipment (CPE) is the hardware located at a customer’s site that connects it to a provider’s network or service. It includes routers, modems, optical network terminals, Ethernet network interface devices, SD-WAN appliances, firewalls, phone system gateways and analog adapters. CPE can be owned and managed by the provider, rented to the customer, or bought and run by the customer, and the contract decides which.
At a glance
- CPE is any provider-service hardware that sits at your location rather than in the provider’s network.
- Common examples are routers, cable modems, fiber ONTs, network interface devices, SD-WAN appliances and voice gateways.
- Ownership, management and support vary by service and contract; there is no single rule.
- Provider-managed CPE usually comes with an SLA but limits what you can change.
- CPE often sits just inside the minimum point of entry (MPOE) or in a telecom room, at or near the demarcation point.
What problem it solves
A network service needs something at the customer’s end to terminate the connection and hand it off to the customer’s own network. Calling that hardware CPE gives contracts, support teams and invoices a shared way to say which devices are at the site, who is responsible for them, and where the provider’s responsibility ends.
That matters most when something breaks. If the provider owns and manages the router, it should diagnose and replace it. If the customer owns it, the provider may stop at the handoff and leave the rest to the customer’s IT team. Many disputes about who should fix an outage come down to unclear CPE ownership.
How it works
Access termination. On fiber, the provider may install an optical network terminal (ONT) or a network interface device (NID) that converts the last-mile connection into an Ethernet handoff. Cable services use a modem; some services hand off directly from an optical transceiver in a provider switch.
Routing and security. Behind the handoff sits a router, firewall or SD-WAN appliance. On managed services the provider supplies and configures it; on unmanaged internet services the customer usually supplies its own.
Voice. Session border controllers, voice gateways and analog telephone adapters (ATAs) connect phone systems, fax machines and alarm lines to voice services.
Virtual CPE. Some providers replace several boxes with one general-purpose device running network functions as software, an approach built on network function virtualization (NFV).
Ownership models. Common arrangements are provider-owned and managed (included in the monthly price or billed as a rental), customer-owned but provider-managed, and customer-owned and customer-managed. Each shifts cost, control and responsibility differently.
For providers that supply and run the equipment for you, see our Managed Network Services solution page.
When it matters for buyers
- Comparing quotes. One quote may include managed CPE while another assumes you supply your own; the monthly prices are not comparable until you know.
- Inheriting a site. Inventory the equipment and find out which devices are provider-owned, rented or yours.
- Choosing managed vs. unmanaged services. Managed CPE trades control for a single point of accountability.
- Changing providers. Rented CPE must usually be returned, and your own gear may need reconfiguration for the new handoff.
- Lifecycle planning. Customer-owned CPE needs software updates, support contracts and eventual replacement.
Questions to ask vendors
- Which devices will you install at our site, and who owns each one?
- Is the CPE included in the monthly price, rented separately, or something we must buy?
- Who manages configuration, firmware updates and security patches?
- Can we use our own router or firewall, and do you offer a bridge or pass-through mode?
- What is the replacement time for failed CPE, and is that in the SLA?
- What are the return terms and charges at the end of the contract?
- Will we have read access to the device for monitoring and troubleshooting?
How it differs from the minimum point of entry (MPOE)
The minimum point of entry (MPOE) is a place: where provider cabling enters a building, typically marking where the provider’s wiring responsibility ends. CPE is equipment: the devices at the customer’s site that terminate and use the service. Some CPE sits at the MPOE, but it is often located elsewhere, such as an upstairs telecom room or the customer’s own suite, connected back to the MPOE by building wiring.