Billion BiPAC 8920NZ

LOTS OF CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS, BUT WAY, WAY TOO EXPENSIVE.

ONE OF A handful of routers that we’ve seen with integrated dual SIM slots, the Billion BiPAC boasts nearly unrivalled connectivity. It supports DSL, of course, and the aforementioned SIM slots allow it to also function as a 3G/LTE router without the need for a USB modem. You could just rip the SIM out of your phone if you wanted to. There’s also a Gigabit WAN port, so it can function as a broadband router for FTTH services as well.

But all this connectivity comes at a hefty premium. This is one very expensive router, and the rest of the package does nothing to justify the price. There’s only a single USB 2.0 ports and a standard suite of Ethernet ports. The wireless is two generations out of date, supporting only 300Mbps N — you’re better off with an external wireless solution like a mesh kit. Both the design and configuration are also dated. Billion’s industrial design seems rooted in the year 2000, while its web admin console has also been teleported from the last century. It’s complicated, with few help systems, and you can forget about using a mobile to set up. The best bet for non-technical users is the setup CD.

There are some nice things here, though. It supports VPNs out of the box, for instance, but that’s not really that big of a selling point anymore: many routers do that, as do third-party firmwares. The VPN setup is neat and straightforward, however, and the router does support failover settings for its different networks (so if your DSL goes down, it can automatically switch to LTE).

Frankly, though, this is a router that should be about $400 cheaper. You’re paying a hell of a premium for SIM slots, which are nice, but don’t come close to justifying the current price of the Billion.