TP-Link appears to have a little gem hidden away in its broadband hardware link-up, the TP-Link td-w9970 router may only have single band 802.11 n wireless support, but at ₤ 33 to ₤ 44 it is one of the cheapest devices we understand that supports VDSL2 (and ADSL2+) and includes support for G.INP and vectoring.
The availability of a low-cost modem/router is important as in March 2016 Openreach stops supplying its ECI or Huawei and provided replacement ones for ones that break. For the bulk of the market, this change is irrelevant as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and PlusNet already use all-in-one devices.
So rather than our old 3,000 to 4,000-word length reviews, we will round and try up this little device in a couple of hundred. For those with an existing ECI modem and seeking something with a Broadcom chipset with G.INP and vectoring support the TP-Link td-w9970 router is ideal, and its firmware supports a bridge mode, so once you turn the wireless off you effectively have a direct replacement for an existing VDSL2 modem. In full modem/router mode the firmware and feature set is the fairly standard TP-Link feature set and unlike some provider supplied hardware (e.g. BT HomeHub) you can configure it to answer to Internet pings and thus will work with our Broadband Quality Monitor. You also get to see the VDSL2 connection statistics with more detail available via telnet.
The wireless is not going to set any speed records, but seems to have the usual sort of range and speeds for a basic 2.4 GHz device, for those using the td-w9970 router in modem mode the antenna will only detach if you open up the case and remove the fly leads and apply some judicious use of pliers will allow the antenna to be removed.
Stability is important and in the week of running the modem both in full router mode and bridge mode it has been stable without flapping of the VDSL2 side and this is on a line that does have some issues and the bigger brother the W9980 (which is not a Broadcom chipset) would lose sync perhaps once every 48 hours. The td-w9970 router also seems to sync up and authenticate in a shorter timeframe.
Where To Buy TP TD-W9970 Router:
TP-Link td-w9970 Router Reviews: Spec
| Ports | Ports 1× 10/100 Mbps LAN/WAN Port, 3× 10/100 Mbps LAN ports, 1× RJ11 port, 1× USB 2.0 Port |
| External Power Supply | 9V/0.85A |
| IEEE Standards | IEEE 802.3, 802.3u |
| VDSL2 Standards | ITU-T G.993.2, ITU-T G.993.5 (G.vector), ITU-T G.998.4 (G.INP) |
| ADSL Standards | Full-rate ANSI T1.413 Issue 2, ITU-T G.992.1(G.DMT), ITU-T G.994.1 (G.hs), ITU-T G.995.1 |
| ADSL2 Standards | ITU-T G.992.3 (G.DMT.bis) |
| ADSL2+ Standards | ITU-T G.992.5 |
| Frequency | 2.400 – 2.4835 GHz |
| Signal Rate | 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz |
| Transmit Power | <20dBm(EIRP) |
| Wireless Functions | Enable/Disable Wireless Radio, WMM, Wireless Statistics |
| Wireless Security | Supports 64/128-bit WEP, WPA/WPA2, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK encryptions |
| Operating Modes | DSL Modem Router, 3G/4G Router, Wireless Router |
| Guest Network | 2.4 GHz Guest Network |
| Package Contents | DSL Modem Router TD-W9970 External DSL Splitter RJ11 DSL Cable RJ45 Ethernet Cable Quick Installation Guide Power Adapter |
Final:
The signal is much better than any router with an internal antenna and you have the ability to select a channel. The firewall is robust and passes the Shields Up test. There is facility for USB network storage and a WiFi scheduler. At under ₤ 40 this is great value for money and for the price I would highly recommend TP-Link td-w9970 Router.
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