As it happens I am now facing a similar situation myself.
I also run my modems in bridge mode with PPP/Firewall on a separate router.
The Billion 7800N Bipac that I have been using for the last couple of years just
failed, refusing to sync to the exchange so I am temporarily using a spare TP-Link TD-W8970
I also have a rural, long, slow, troublesome noisy line and the Billion has been By Far the best modem I have tested on it.
So I also would prefer another good Broadcom chipset for its great ADSL1 performance
- and sadly that was not a typo. :-(
with the possibility to also work with FTTC - if we ever get a cabinet installed.
I too have noted that the zyxel has had a good reception here on Kitz.
And would be interested to give it a try.
One feature that I would not like to lose would be the Billions GUI inteface which allows to adjust the SNR
a little which I have used on occasion to 'bump up' sync speed just enough to get into the next speed band.
So I have two questions:
1) Can user of the newer Billion 8800 reassure me that this feature still exists?[1]
(If not i would consider ebay for a used 7800N)
2) Can users of the zyxel tell me if I can adjust SNR easily?*
Please feel free to also comment with other suggestions- all useful contributions gratefully received.
:-)
[1] see 'hidden' feature at:
http://x.x.x.x/snr.cgi*yes I know I can telnet to the command line and enact the correct incantation via the broadcom binary to poke at the chipset settings, but this does not meet the general users definition of 'user friendly' and AFAIUI is not persistent across reboot/power cycle.