Billion UK Forum

Good evening all,

I'm new to Billion units and have been looking at getting my first one. I was initially going to but the 7800N back in January after finding out that BE had sold out to Sky and would require their BeBox back when I eventually leave.
I then found out the 7800DXL was being released and held off. I noticed from reading plenty threads on the 7800N that the wireless had a tendancy to fail after being off a while.
Is there any reported issues with this happening on the 7800DXL? Does it use the same wireless card? I work away from home so all equipment will be shut down for a month at a time so don't want to come home and find it has failed.

I am currently using a Bebox supplied and have the following stats using gaming mode and utilised for speed:

Uptime: 0 days, 3:16:30
DSL Type: G.992.5 Annex M US 56
Maximum Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 2,053 / 23,077
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 2,057 / 20,001
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 0.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 13.0 / 18.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 11.0 / 14.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 7.0 / 6.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / BDCM
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 25 / 0
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 25 / 156
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 8,521 / 91

I also have a DG834GT which has been sat unused for several years so was looking at getting something up to date and the 7800DXL seems the right choice but on the Be forums I was advised to stay with the Netgear.

OK further digging found that the initial problem with the 7800N was resolved many years ago. My mistake.
Looks like the 7800DXL will be on my shopping list for the next few weeks

Hi

There is a new model due to be released next month which is the 7800DX. Essentially it looks like it will be identical hardware to the DXL but will support VPN End points, these are handy for connecting securely from public Wi-Fi hotspots back to your own network. However if you have no need for this the DXL is a good model.

Regarding BeThere, you do not need to return your router, they are letting all customers keep them even if they cancel their service, which many people have not wanting to be part of Sky. Sky have said O2/Be customers can continue to use their same hardware after migration to their network.

It remains to be seen if Sky will continue to support features like Annex M which is giving you the 2Meg upload speed, however things are not set to start changing for a few months yet.

Regards

Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the reply. I noticed some people mentioning the DX model on other threads and found it will be released mid june/july time so I'll hang fire until it is.
I will probably not end up using half the features but would prefer to have a router that had the options available to me if I wanted them. For yours I always heard of people recommending the 7800N and was pleased newer models were coming out.

Going off topic here:
Fiber as yet is still to be announced for rollout in my area which will be a long way off. When it eventually does, Can I use this router on its own as I would use it for ADSL2+? Or does it require a fiber modem then this would just be bridged (I think it is called)?

Such as:

ADSL line---->7800DX---->PC etc
Fiber line---->7800DX---->PC etc
Fiber line---->Fiber modem (isp supplied)---->7800DX---->PC

I hope that makes sense?

Hi

It would need the fibre modem still as it these don't to VDSL.

Regards

Phil

Thanks.
No big issue really as I think it will be a good few years before that makes an appearance anyway.
Thanks for the info though. Appreciated

So has the 7800DX been officially released in the UK now? I think I noticed it on Broadband buyer the other day.

Hi

Yes it has been released. I have one now and all good so far. There were around 24 of these showing in stock but now down to 3 at Broadband buyer so seems popular. It is the same design as the DXL and VDOX. Internally looking into the vents it is just a VDOX without all the VoIP components on the board, and I bet it is identical to the DXL except the firmware has VPN enabled.

The firmware version is: 2.31.RC4.3 which is the same as that currently available for the DXL and VDOX.

Regards

Phil

Thanks. I managed to find it again and have now ordered one