So is the Billion 7700N (as recommended by baby_frogmella) the best sub-£50 router anyone has to recommend? It looks like that lets you set up more than one hotspot/SSID with time limits, and that means I should be able to set up a hotspot for each of the kids, with their own time limits (also allowing me to kick one off completely, but not the other, if nec.), and then one for adults who may legitimately need the Internet after 10pm. It looks like URL logging is not going to happen on a router at this price point. This one appears to meet many of my original requirements:

1) Fast LAN
2) Time controls
3) Domain blocking (+ keyword blocking, it seems)
[4) no logging]
5) Multiple SSIDs (+ with time controls for each)
[6) I don't think you can limit bandwidth per SSID]
7) ADSL2+
8) N (but not dual band - 2.4GHz only)
9) Secure - fingers crossed
10) £50 or less

Not sure how I manage £900 a year for heating/cooking/working from home then.

One server on 24/7 is a newer deliberately slower CPU in a big box that is cold to touch.
One laptop on at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, laptop is good on cold days.

Ah, although now I double check, the online manual I was reading to discover the features was for the 7800N (£125 on Amazon) rather than the £50 7700N. The Billion website doesn't seem to have the manual for the 7700N, which I presume is an older model. So the 7700N may not have some of these features that I want! 8-(

In reply to a post by rpb:

Ah, although now I double check, the online manual I was reading to discover the features was for the 7800N (£125 on Amazon) rather than the £50 7700N. The Billion website doesn't seem to have the manual for the 7700N, which I presume is an older model. So the 7700N may not have some of these features that I want! 8-(

The 7700N manual can be downloaded here. I know its a lot of money for a router but if you can stretch to 110 pounds for the 7800N, you won't regret it
http://www.weareelectricals.com/products/Billion-BiP...

Edited by deleted (Wed 19-Oct-11 08:15:59)

Post deleted by baby_frogmella

Thanks for that, baby_frogmella, it wasn't on their main support site. Well spotted.

I've had a look and the 7700N seems to support just about the same feature set as the 7800N. Do you know what, if any, the differences are? I can't really see at the moment what advantages the extra £70 (Amazon's £120 vs £50) buys me, apart from cable support and Gigabit wired ethernet, neither of which I use.

The 7800N is a much more powerful router than the 7700N and this is reflected in the price. Its uses the broadcom 6358 chipset widely considering to be one of the best in the business. It holds on to very low noise margins without blinking an eyelid. It has more RAM than the 7700N. It has better wireless coverage than the 7700N. Not saying the 7700N is poor in any way, just that the 7800N is better. If a 90 year old granny (living on her own) just wanted a simple wireless router to occasionally check her emails then the 7700N would be ideal. However if a more demanding user needed something more powerful with a lot more options then the 7800N is ideal. In my case, i have 1 desktop, 2 laptops, 2 iphones and 1 boxee box connected by wireless N to the 7800N...it copes without breaking a sweat.

If you do decide to go for the 7800N, you could always return it back to Amazon for a refund if it doesn't meet your expectations. But i strongly suspect you'd keep it