Support and Warranty

• Speed: 7.2Mbps/1.9Mbps*
• SMS: No
• Voice: No
• Next G network: Yes
• HSDPA/HSUPA: HSUPA
• International Roaming: Full
• Form Factor: Desktop Router
• Windows 2000: Yes
• Windows XP: Yes
• Vista 32 bit driver: Yes
• Vista 64 bit driver: Yes
• Vista GUI: Yes
• Macintosh driver: Yes
• Macintosh driver OS Version: Mac OS x 10.4.11 or later
• Macintosh GUI: Yes

Source: Telstra Business website

Broadband devices that are sold under an ISP's banner are usually supported by both parties, the manufacturer and the ISP. The ISP provides basic support nd the manufacturer provides firmware updates, often without much fanfare

The device is sold by Telstra through Telstra's retail or sales channels therefore warranty claims are through point of sales.

The PDF user guide is easy to read, in an A4 format and even contains an appendix describing each of the available commands for use via the Gateway's command line interface accessed by Telnet or SSH.

Firmware updates are one of the most, if not the most important aspect of a modern piece of networking or broadband hardware. Like your PC, the firmware contains the essential operating system, device drivers and software to operate the device.

Only one firmware update has been issued for the 3G9W since launch, introducing some additional networking features.. Applying this update is a two stage process and is done from the operating system rather than in the gateway itself. The first stage updates the Gateway firmware and the second stage updates the 3G Modem firmware. This process takes a long time, 15mins compared to other routers.

Our success with this firmware did not go smoothly however, once the flashing process was complete, the gateway would no longer boot successfully with the SIM inserted. Investigation revealed that the firmware update introduced an incompatibility with Telstra USIM cards of a certain series, of which was supplied to media for review.

The firmware installation instructions have since been have updated to warn to not apply the firmware if the SIM card has a certain ID code as it is incompatible.

The gateway uses the Linux operating system covered by a GPL license. NetComm do not offer the source code for free download unlike other manufacturers and charge a shipping fee for the code.

"This product may include software code that is subject to the GNU General Public License (“GPL”) or GNU Lesser General Public License ("LGPL"). This code is subject to the copyrights of one or more authors and is distributed without any warranty. A copy of this software can be obtained by contacting NetComm Limited on +61 2 9424 2059. A postage and handling fee of AUD$10.00 will be applicable. "

Source: http://www.netcomm.com.au/workarea/listers/3g9wt_firwmware

NetComm's competition offer the GPL source for their products for free download via HTTP or FTP so it seems they do not share the same concerns NetComm has for not providing the sources for download.

Price and Availability

Australia

A Telstra Bigpond branded version of this Gateway is available for use with Bigpond plans at a cheaper price [not reviewed]

Global

The product we reviewed is exclusive to Australian Tel co Telstra and is branded and customised for the company. To use the device with another service provider requires it to be unlocked at cost to accept other SIM cards.

An unbranded generic version of this gateway called the 3G9W may be available in markets other than Australia