Sounds like you could get away with the cheaper AE. I got the one with the modem since who knows, I might move somewhere without broadband (though I doubt it) but I do like to be able to send and recieve faxes wirelessly. Sounds like you don't need that though. If you aren't squeamish about drilling a hole in your AE, get the cheaper one. If you ever need an antenna you can add one on. I'm glad I got the one with the antenna port though, my reception is terrible in my house, but it's an old plaster-and-lath house where the walls have almost an inch of masonry on each side. Great for noise (and heat) insulation, but terrible for hanging pictures and for wireless reception. At my old place I used to be able to take my laptop anywhere, but in this new house I can be 15' away from the base station, but if it's through two or more walls my reception is zero with my TiBook. My wife's G4 iBook does a little better, but it still can't print through two walls although she can web surf.