Exclusive First Look: Billion BiPAC 7300GX

Posted on 7 Aug 2007 at 11:58

Losing your broadband connection can be a real pain, but with Billion's BiPAC 7300GX ADSL router you never have to worry again, as it's got 3G backup. A CardBus slot in the rear takes a 3G datacard (T-Mobile and Vodafone cards supported), so you can get wireless broadband when your main connection fails.

The model that we had requires you to manually select which network connection you want to use, but the full version will fail-over from ADSL to 3G in the event of a problem, and back the other way when your line comes back.

Configuration of the router is all done through the web-based management page. There's no setup wizard, but all of the settings are links from the main status page. To configure your 3G card you need to know the access point name, username and password of your service. These are pretty easy to find online if you search Google.

Performance from 3G will depend on your location and service provider, but we got 443Kbit/s from a T-Mobile Web'n'walk card, which is fine for sharing a broadband connection with a few PCs. Alternatively, if you're doing a demonstration or exhibiting at a show this is a cheap way of providing a network connection on the move.

The router will cost around £112 inc VAT when released soon and we'll have a full review of this product in our November issue, which is on sale from Thursday 20th September.

Author: David Ludlow

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous News : General Next >

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.