Product Reviews

Billion's BiPAC 7402VGP might not be the prettiest of wireless routers, but it's one of the most feature packed. As well as providing a way to share your ADSL connection via its built-in ADSL2+ modem, it also acts as a voice gateway for SIP-compliant VoIP services. The RJ45 ports on the rear allow you to connect a standard telephone, so you don't need to buy a VoIP phone.

First, you need to configure your router using the web-based management. A quick-start wizard shows you how to get your router connected to the internet. Unfortunately, it doesn't prompt you to change your wireless settings, so you're left with an insecure wireless network. Some settings are a little confusing. There's no simple option to choose to receive an IP address manually from your ISP. Instead, you have to enter the router's IP address as 0.0.0.0. While the onscreen messages make this clear, it wouldn't take much to make this interface a lot friendlier.

We found it easy enough to configure our wireless security settings. The BiPAC 7402VGP supports WEP and WPA-PSK

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encryption. Performance at close range was excellent, but throughputs dropped at range, which is a little disappointing.

To use the router for voice, some configuration is needed. Billion has a set of predefined services available, including Sipgate. If you're using one of these services, you need only provide your username and password. If you're not, you need to get the full network details of your provider. It can be overwhelming, and those who are unfamiliar with network settings are likely to struggle to configure it.

If you fancy yourself as something of a network wizard, there's a lot to like, and you'll find that the BiPAC is a powerful router. You can configure both the phone ports for different SIP accounts, or you can use the same for both. You can also connect your standard phone line to the router and configure the router to dial out on this line when you hit a prefix number, such as 9. This is useful if you need to dial emergency service numbers, which aren't always supported by VoIP services. It also means that your telephone will ring with incoming calls on both the VoIP line and your standard telephone.

The firewall is also advanced, allowing complete configuration. Those who like to define exactly which network traffic is allowed will love this router, but to us it feels more like a corporate product and it could prove confusing and difficult for the novice to configure.

If you know exactly what you're doing with network routers, Billion's BiPAC 7402VGP is one of the most advanced and configurable models around. However, for the novice user, its capabilities are probably a bit overwhelming.