14 DAY TRIAL // Here's a network device that's really worth billions, although it sells for a dramatically lower price. Billion Electrics has unveiled its Bipac 7402GX wireless router that promises not to let you down when your ISP does. The wireless device comes with a 3G back-up plan when there are service outages with the wired ISP.
The Bipac 7402GX can work with either ADSL or 3G modems and is especially targeted at businesses or home users who require permanent Internet connectivity. However, in order to take advantage of the failsafe 3G service you need to have already subscribed to a wireless 3G data plan with your mobile carrier.
The router comes with a built-in USB port that allows users to hook up a 3G modem along with the SIM card. The biggest issue with the router is the fact that it requires drivers for a wide range of modems, so right after connecting the 3G set you'll have to load the appropriate driver.
More than that, support is currently limited to only three modem brands, listed on the company's website. However, the company plans to include support for more modems in the upcoming firmware releases. The manufacturer also claims that the wireless router can handle 3G speeds of up to 14.4Mbits/sec using the HSDPA technology, but the real data transfer rate varies with the coverage and contention.
Another weak point in the Bipac 7402GX router is the fact that the manufacturer ditched the promising 802.11 n wireless in favor of the widely spread g standard. This translates in lower data transfer rates across the wireless network and it is likely to upset the draft-n early adopters.
The router comes with all it takes for a safe and secure network, including a Nat firewall, WEP and WPA wireless encryption or VPN and QoS options. The Bipac 7402GX wireless router is already available on retail, but it comes with a whooping price tag of $252.59.