Billion BiPAC 7300N review

Billion's BiPAC 7300N is one of the most advanced routers we've seen.

It can function as an ADSL2+ modem router or connect via Ethernet to a modem, such as for a cable internet connection. Using an Ethernet modem requires setting the router to use one of its four Ethernet ports as a WAN port. This means you'll be able to use the same router, no matter what kind of internet connection you choose.

The router's quick start wizard runs from the web interface. It helps you set up your internet connection but doesn't prompt you to create a secure wireless network. This is easy enough to do, though. The wireless settings let you enable and disable the service, set the SSID and channel and enable WEP, WPA or WPA2 security. It comes with channel-bonding enabled; we recommend disabling it if you suffer from poor performance.

The firewall settings allow you to set up the usual features, such as port forwarding and keyword and URL web filtering, but you can also block Java Applets or ActiveX content. QoS rules give you complete control over internet traffic, but you have to configure the applications you want to control manually.

We like the Wake-on-LAN feature, which you can use to wake a computer over the internet. All you have to do is save your target PC's MAC address in the router's Wake-on-LAN list, connect to the dedicated web page from over the internet and wake your computer.

We tested the router with Billion's £25 BiPAC 3010N wireless adaptor, which couldn't see the router until we downloaded a new driver from Billion's website. Transfer speeds using this adaptor were slow, but performance with our Centrino 2 laptop's integrated adaptor was excellent, with speeds of 44.2Mbit/s at 10m and 25.9Mbit/s at 20m, the fastest we've ever seen from an ADSL router at this range.

The BiPAC 7300N isn't for the fainthearted, but if you want complete control over network settings, tons of advanced features and great performance, it can't be beaten.

Author: Kat Orphanides