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Consumer demand for the low cost of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology has delivered record sales for Billion, Australia’s most popular broadband router brand, at a normally quiet time of year.
Billion’s exclusive Australian distributor PC Range reports that sales, including its flagship VoIP-enabled 7404 ADSL2+ router, were 20 per cent higher during January and February than in the buoyant November-December lead-up to Christmas.
PC Range managing director Raaj Menon said the sales surge had caught the company by surprise. “The market is really going ballistic,” he said.
“We’ve had our biggest months ever in January and February, after strong sales in November and December. The big sellers are the Billion 7404 VGP M and the Billion 7300 G. A lot of people are looking for VoIP while others are just looking for a cheap but reliable wireless router.
“We’ve also seen increasing sales of SME security routers like the BiGuard 30, the S10 and the S20. The beauty of the S10 and S20 is that they provide small businesses with cost-effective enterprise-level security in an SSL VPN device that has integrated router and firewall functions.”
Billion is the most popular broadband router brand in the Australian market according to the 2006 Australian Broadband Survey http://whirlpool.net.au/survey/2006/, conducted by tech-savvy website Whirlpool. The survey reports that Billion routers were used by 21 per cent of its more than 20,000 respondents.
During the past year, VoIP-enabled broadband routers accounted for more than 50 per cent of Billion’s Australian sales. In 2004-05, VoIP routers were just 1.3 per cent of its sales.
Mr. Menon said this sales boom was driven by demand from small to medium enterprises and residential customers. “VoIP routers are selling like hotcakes whereas in 2005 they were a rarity," he said. “Voice over IP technology is starting to really shake up the telecommunications sector. People are embracing the opportunity to use convenient low-cost calling services, like Skype or NodePhone, rather than pay through the nose for long-distance or overseas calls.”
The Billion 7404VGP/M is a VoIP 802.11g ADSL2+ Firewall Modem/Router that packs powerful features into a single device. The 7404 provides home, SOHO and small business customers with economical VoIP calls, along with wireless mobility and the benefits of high-speed Internet access.
Another attraction of the 7404 is its Annex M capabilities, which doubles upstream speeds for customers of broadband companies supporting the Annex M protocol, which was approved last year.
Founded in 1973 and listed on the Taiwanese stock exchange, Billion
Electric Co., Ltd. (Taiex #3027) is one of the leading providers of
network equipment and power supply products in the Asia Pacific rim.
Since its Communication Division was established in 1992, Billion has
acquired a considerable customer base across Europe, America, Middle
East and Africa, and in the Asia Pacific markets.
PC Range is the exclusive Australian distributor for technology
convergence products including Billion broadband equipment and Minitar
wireless networking devices
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