If you are one of the lucky buggers who is getting FTTN rolled out in your area, then you are going to need to look at picking yourself up a new modem. This is because FTTN runs on a technology called VDSL which stands for Very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line, obviously. Despite the unusual and excessive use of hyphens, it’s pretty much the same technology as your existing ADSL service (as far as the home user is concerned) - plug modem in, enter username / password, whiz bang! You are now connected to the information superhighway ready to watch as many cat videos as your quota will allow.

Sadly, like the NBN’s use of copper technology, VDSL modems are a bit behind the times in terms of wifi speeds. The majority of the VDSL equipped modems I found in my research only came with a top wifi specification of Wireless N. Even a quick search of staticice.com.au for ‘VDSL2+’ modems only shows us a single capable modem - the D-Link DSL 2887AL, which thankfully is the one we are taking a look at today.



The D-Link DSL-2877AL is a ADSL2+/VDSL2+ Modem that has more features than a mid 90s swiss army knife. Not only can the DSL-2877AL take care of your current ADSL2+ connection until the NBN co finishes that FTTN install, but it can also support a 4G USB dongle in case you are out of monthly quota or something catastrophic happens to your phone lines.

Not only can it support those three types of connections but there is also the option for printer sharing via one of the two USB 2.0 ports, but it also comes equipped with a dual band 802.11AC 750 wifi router to connect with all those devices in your house that want to get amongst that sweet, sweet NBN.

The dual band 802.11AC 750 specification that the DSL-2877AL is running is capable of hitting a peak speed of 733 Mbps over wifi which should be more than enough to stream anything you want over your home network without needing to buffer -- yes even 4K content should be fine to be tossed about -- it's also great if you are running Windows 10 and want to try out Xbox One live game streaming to your PC or tablet.



Setting up the DSL-2877AL is extremely easy. Thankfully the days where you would need to call that one friend you had that knew how to set up networks are long gone (I'm mainly thankful because I was the one everyone would call). As with all the current generation of D-Link devices, setup is done through either a smart phone application, or a web browser and is so easy I think even my mother-in-law could do it -- and I once had to write her a checklist for enabling bullet points in Microsoft Word.

Now it's not all wireless, as the DSL-2877AL also comes equipped with 4 x 10/100 ethernet ports for connecting those devices that just don't run wireless. Sadly they aren’t 10/100/1000 ports, which could overcome the lack of AC wifi on the latest generation of game consoles, but it is important to note that the DSL-2877AL is an entry-level device, so certain things are just not going to be there, things like gigabit ports.

Design-wise the DSL-2877AL is left a little bit wanting, as the device is basically a dark grey rectangular box with two legs on the bottom that steady the device when its upright, the rear of the device has the ethernet ports, phone port, a USB port and a WAN port if you want to run it as a router only. The side of the unit has a second USB port as well as switches to toggle the 2.4ghz, 5ghz network bands and finally a power switch.



The top of the device is littered with around 40 lights that showcase everything from the power through to every possible connection the DSL-2877AL has at its disposal including the two USB ports. Its fair to say that with everything plugged in - it would be a epileptic’s nightmare.

If you are in the market for the VDSL capable modem, then you should really take a look at D-Link’s DSL-2877AL. Its ease of setup as well as the numerous connections that it can accept are truly staggering for the asking price. It would have been nice to see the inclusion of a gigabit port, but its absence is inline with its entry-level status. While the AC750 wifi is the lowest speed in the AC spectrum (it goes up to AC1900), it’s great for those users who want that latest wifi specification, but don’t want to pay the premium charged for the higher speeds.

PROS

• Dual ADSL2+ / VDSL2+ connections allow for using the existing ADSL network while the FTTN rollout is completed.
  
• 4G LTE dongle is amazing for users looking to run 4G Internet, or need 4G backup.
  
• AC750 is good for a small number of devices and is compatible with most current android and iphone 6 devices.
  
• Price is great for a device with this many features.

CONS

• Lack of gigabit ports
  
• Lack of USB 3.0 ports / DNLA media server