diff --git a/model/ccnx-net-device-face.cc b/model/ccnx-net-device-face.cc
index 3d3275e..c09e6b2 100644
--- a/model/ccnx-net-device-face.cc
+++ b/model/ccnx-net-device-face.cc
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@
 {
   NS_LOG_FUNCTION (this << netDevice);
 
+  SetMetric (1); // default metric
+
   NS_ASSERT_MSG (m_netDevice != 0, "CcnxNetDeviceFace needs to be assigned a valid NetDevice");
 }