It looks like you can still use it strictly for modem duties and use your existing router. That’s what I do (albeit with AT&T fiber), and the only downsides are you have to port forward on both the “modem”/C5500XK and your router, and things like dynamic DNS is potentially more complicated to setup.

Definitely software based blur and not tilt shift. Some close up grass, the shed, and the distant neighbors house are all in focus. The only optical way to do anything like that is throwing Vaseline on only certain parts of a lens filter.

Also to note, this is my favorite Lemmy community by far.