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[dewi]

I know the question's been asked before, but new modem/routers have come on the market since the question was last asked.

I'm stuck with a long ADSL line (6.2 km) with little likelihood of FTTC any time soon. I get about 2 Mb/s.

I currently have a Billion 7800N. I recently added a Netgear Orbi, which I've configured as an Access Point. I've switched off Wi-Fi on the Billion 7800N.

I've been having problems where I lose connectivity. The connection returns if I wait a few minutes, or immediately if I reboot the router. The line doesn't drop. I can still access the router GUI. I just can't access the internet. The Billion is quite old. The casing is going yellow on top, suggesting that it runs quite hot. I'm considering trying a new modem/router to see if it'll fix my problems.

My main requirements, should I buy a new router are:

1. Line speed and stability at least as good as the Billion 7800N (preferably better).
2. Better QoS, so I can prioritise e.g. game traffic and web surfing over the SkyQ box downloading TV programs.

I'm not interested in Wi-Fi performance, as the Netgear Orbi handles Wi-Fi very well.

I've considered:

1. Billion 8900AX-1600 R2 (£169.99)
2. Asus DSL-AC88U (£199.98)

These would both give me a more modern and faster Broadcom chipset than the 7800N. The Asus would also give me better QoS. Both are very expensive, however. Thoughts?

Thanks in anticipation,
Dewi

[burakkucat]

Welcome to the Kitz forum. 

Remembering that a device which is good on one circuit may be not good on another, the choice of modem(/router) is very much trial-and-error.

I have two questions, that are actually linked --

• Is your broadband Internet service provided by 20CN or 21CN equipment?
• In which mode does your service operate? G.992.1, G.992.3 or G.993.5?

Looking at your list of two, I will immediately say do not choose an Asus device . . . their modem implementation is just not acceptable.

Please give some consideration to ZyXEL modem/routers. There is a thread, titled Combined VDSL2 Modem Routers, of which the very first post would be worth a read . . . just scroll to the bottom of that post for a list of ZyXEL devices.

[dewi]

1. 21CN
2. The Billion reports that the connection is ADSL2+, so I assume G.992.3

The Asus DSL-AC88U uses a Broadcom chipset, so should be better than their previous ADSL offerings.

Thanks for the info. The ZyXEL modem/routers look interesting.

[burakkucat]

1. 21CN
2. The Billion reports that the connection is ADSL2+, so I assume G.992.3

Thank you for that information, so we now know that the exchange equipment is not "holding back" the circuit.  It might be worthwhile checking the highest sub-carrier (tone) that is normally in use, for if it is below 255 then configuring the modem to only use G.992.3 (ADSL2) may prove to be beneficial.

G.992.5 = ADSL2+, G.992.3 = ADSL2 & G.992.1 = ADSL1.

The Asus DSL-AC88U uses a Broadcom chipset, so should be better than their previous ADSL offerings.

Ah, that is something of which I was not aware.

[babis3g]

My opinion is to try find out what chipset use your exchange & get a modem with same chipset
The billion should report it at least via telnet and the command (i think)
adsl info --vendor

Also regarding with the latest broadcom chipset & adsl line, are not so stable like the old broadcom adsl only modems ... my line seems suffers from REIN, the old broadcoms netgear, tp link, billion (adsl only modems, are fine) newer chipset broadcom (adsl/vdsl) are having disconnections

If you have adsl only & not near plans for vdsl ... maybe not good idea to get an expensive modem

[dewi]

That is useful information. I wondered whether the older, ADSL-only Broadcom chipsets were still better for ADSL than the newer xDSL Broadcom chipsets. It makes sense that the new designs would focus on VDSL performance. I've ordered a 2way 2700HGV router from Ebay. That way, I'll at least find out whether the problems are caused by the line or by the router.

[Iain]

Speaking of cheaper routers, I ran a project a few years ago rolling out services around the country, and used the old BT Business 2 Wire HGV2700 routers, and found they gave a good percentage increase over any other routers we used at the time. You can pick them up cheaply enough on the Bay of e to give them a go. They don't do VPN, but well worth giving one a go.