2018 Update – VDSL Router Choices for UK FTTC Fibre Broadband ISPs

Secondly, the routers we list are also built for UK networks (Annex A), which is important because some models that can be purchased online may not actually work with local FTTC ISPs (i.e. avoid importing from overseas!). In addition, you should always make sure to get the necessary VDSL2 settings for the router from your ISP before buying; most routers include automatic setup routines but these can’t always be relied upon.

On top of that those who take a Sky Broadband connection should note that their authentication system uses MER (DHCP Option 61), which requires specific support by the router manufacturer in order to work. Most of the devices we list below should support MER and we’ve marked them accordingly, but on some you might need to do a little extra work (i.e. use Wireshark to extract your VDSL login and password from Sky’s router).

Alternatively you could adopt the traditional two-box method and just use Sky’s router as a modem and then leave everything else up to your new device (i.e. connect it via the WAN port).

NOTE: Where possible we’ve attempted to include an estimate for real-world power consumption (usually measured while using several devices at the same time). Most routers will give you a much higher MAX power draw (usually around 30-60 Watts) but this rarely reflects normal usage and is often dramatically higher than you would ever experience in the real-world.

NETGEAR D7000-200UKS Nighthawk

Cost (Est.): £130
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1900Mbps combined
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 4 x 1000Mbps LAN, 2 x USB 3.0
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 17a, Vectoring, G.INP)
Sky MER Support: Yes
Openreach Approved: Yes
Est. Power Consumption: 7-8 Watts

This is essentially the more modern update of NETGEAR’s D7000-100UKS (v1) router from two years ago, which has the same core features minus the Gigabit WAN port. Otherwise it’s cheaper and has resolved some of the bugs found in their 2016 kit.

The router supports a 1GHz dual-core CPU and the addition of two USB 3.0 ports is most welcome for file storage and connecting printers etc. On top of that you can use a Smartphone app to remotely monitor / access your router and it supports Amazon’s Echo (Alexa). In addition, the three external antennas are a positive for WiFi performance.

On the other hand it’s quite big at 28.5cm wide and there’s no mention of support for 3G or 4G USB Mobile Broadband dongles. Furthermore, not everybody is a fan of Netgear’s user interface but that’s perhaps more an issue of personal taste. Anybody wanting something even faster for WiFi and with a WAN port, albeit at extra cost, should check out the Netgear D7800-100UKS or the ridiculously expensive Netgear D8500.

TP-Link AC1900 (Archer VR900 V2)

Cost (Est.): £120
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1900Mbps combined
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 1 x 1000Mbps WAN, 3 x 1000Mbps LAN, 2 x USB 3.0
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 17a, Vectoring, G.INP)
Sky MER Support: Yes
Openreach Approved: Unknown
Est. Power Consumption: 10-14 Watts

In the past TP-link were known for producing affordable kit with lots of features, albeit via a buggy implementation and tedious User Interface (UI). Mercifully their routers have changed dramatically over the past few years, with the latest kit being both highly reliable and sporting a sleek UI that can work just as well for novices or advanced users. You can also control it via a special Smartphone App.

The latest example of this is the redesigned version 2 (V2) of their VR900 router, which combines a powerful dual-core Broadcom chip with 1900Mbps capable 802.11ac WiFi and three external antennas for a good but not amazing signal quality. The fact that this has roughly the same strength of ports as the above NETGEAR is another bonus given the price, particularly as their USB can also handle a 4G dongle for Mobile Broadband.

On the other hand there are a few issues with TP-Link’s kit. Firstly, the DSL line stats they provide are rather limited, thus you’ll get the basics (attenuation, SNR etc.) but not much more. The old v1 router was also a bit of a power hog, although the v2 has improved this, as well as becoming slightly faster (different / new chip sets) and sporting a new design.

We should point out that if you want even faster WiFi then there’s always the TP-Link AC2800 (VR2800) at around £180, while if you’d rather sacrifice WiFi performance and save a bit of money then take a look at the TP-Link AC1600 V2 (VR600) or the last generation TP-Link AC1200 (VR400) for around £65. From a budget point of view the VR400 is perhaps the most attractive option of the lot (you get a lot for very little money).

Billion BiPAC 8800AXL R2

Cost (Est.): £100
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1600Mbps combined
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 1 x 1000Mbps WAN, 4 x 1000Mbps LAN, 1 x USB 2.0
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 17a, Vectoring, G.INP)
Sky MER Support: Yes (claims it does and the R1 did too)
Openreach Approved: Unknown
Est. Power Consumption: Unknown

We’ve previously recommended Billion’s excellent BiPAC 8900AX-1600 R2 router but that one has become too expensive and so instead we’ve actually taken a step down and gone for the cheaper but recently redesigned 8800AXL R2, which offers similar WiFi performance, a broadcom chipset, a USB port that can handle 4G dongles for Mobile Broadband and Gigabit LAN. At this price it’s well worth the money.

The original 8800 AXL was a good bit of kit and the addition of external antennas on the R2 could help to improve upon the decidedly average WiFi performance of its predecessor. On the other hand it’s not exactly one of the most cosmetically attractive devices and generally these are more intended for business users, which means the UI might be too tedious for your average non-techy consumer.

Hard core users might also like to check out the decidedly more expensive Billion BIPAC 8900X R3, although this lacks the included external antennas but it’s feature rich and aimed more at business users. However we haven’t tried the 8900X R3 ourselves and don’t know of anybody else who has, which makes it hard to judge beyond looking at the specs.

DrayTek Vigor 2762ac

Cost (Est.): £130 – £160
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1166Mbps combined
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 4 x 1000Mbps LAN (LAN Port 4 Switchable with WAN), 2 x USB 2.0, 2 x Phone Sockets
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 30a, Vectoring, G.INP)
Sky MER Support: Yes (details)
Openreach Approved: Yes
Est. Power Consumption: 24 Watts (MAX) – Normal use likely c.10 Watts

As a brand DrayTek’s routers are usually aimed more at businesses or advanced users and they have a very well established reputation for quality. On top of that you can usually find just about every feature under the sun on their devices and they tend to work in almost any setup. The 2762ac even has two phone ports (something none of the others have) and its two USB ports also support 4G Mobile dongles.

The only area where the DrayTek falls down, in our view, is with WiFi performance. The above model has a peak of 1166Mbps and that’s well below the others on this page. Alternatively those with deep pockets could get much faster WiFi (2033Mbps peak) by adopting the DrayTek Vigor 2862ac but at around £270 it’s really more intended for the business user.

Notable Mentions

We should say there are a few routers that are worth mentioning but which didn’t quite make it into our list due to their high cost. The first is the feature abundant AVM FRITZ!Box 7590 at c.£225 and the second is the Asus DSL-AC88U AC3100 for £210 (note: we’ve previously recommended the also quite capable ASUS DSL-AC68U), which among other things boasts an integrated G.fast modem and ridiculously fast Wi-Fi.

We’ve listed routers from AVM and Asus before (AVM’s 3490 is even approved by Openreach), with both being strong brands that sport masses of features. However we are aware that AVM’s latest 7590 has had some issues with Sky MER connectivity. Similarly we don’t yet know whether anybody has got the G.fast aspect of Asus’s DSL-AC88U to work with Openreach’s implementation of the technology in the UK, which remains in pilot.

Conclusions

Each of the four routers mentioned above are generally good devices and most of the manufacturers also offer cheaper or more expensive variants of the same model, albeit with different performance characteristics. Personally speaking I am a fan of TP-Link’s router but the latest revision of NETGEAR’s venerable D7000 is a strong piece of kit, even if it’s a little more expensive and a bit too big for my own personal liking.

On the other hand the Billion is extremely good value for the money, although you do lose a bit of wireless performance, while DrayTek’s router is perhaps more useful for expert users that are likely to use wired network connections for their primary computers. It’s a little disappointing that DrayTek couldn’t squeeze a bit more WiFi performance out of a device at that price point but you still get a lot of features for your money.

Otherwise we suspect that this may be the last time that we write about VDSL routers, not least since our future focus will be more on G.fast integrated routers or FTTP friendly devices. All of the above can of course still be used alongside those two technologies, albeit as second box solutions (e.g. plugged into a G.fast modem).

NOTE: Openreach (BT) prefers approved VDSL2 routers to be used on their FTTC network and annoyingly they refuse to share a list of certified devices with the public (see here). In general all of the devices listed above, whether approved or not, should work fine but the advice is to keep your ISP supplier router handy in case a problem emerges (i.e. you should always connect the ISP supplied router when seeking support for a fault).