A substantial revision of the W25 router released in 2007, the W35 hooks into 3G networks to provide high-speed wireless broadband, phone, fax and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) capability, all packaged into a stylish and unobtrusive unit about the size of a paperback novel.

For most rural users, “3G” is synonomous with Telstra’s NextG service, but the W35 accepts any 3G or 2G SIM card and so is carrier-independent.

Broadba nd is delivered from the W35 to a computer via an Ethernet cable or WiFi; standard fixed-line desk phones and faxes just plug straight into the back of the device as they would plug into a phone wall socket.

In testing, the W35, distributed in Australia by Powertec Telecommunications, performed as claimed.

With 14.4 megabits per second (Mbps) maximum download speed and two Mbps maximum upload, the unit delivers an ADSL-equivalent internet experience—although day-to-day, that will depend on network loads.

Phone and fax usage differ little from their fixed-line equivalents in quality—and are probably better if you are used to fixed-line interference from electric fences and other sources.

Ericsson claimed to have devised the first 3G faxing capability in Australia, although every day more of the communications once run exclusively through faxes is being pumped through the internet.

The fax is far from dead, however, and anyone wanting to run a business wirelessly will welcome this capability.

While faxing is in decline, VoIP is on the rise. Telecommunications users are increasingly choosing to bypass fixed line phone charges and do their talking via the internet. They might put up with a little roughness in transmission, but pay for their talking time in cents rather than dollars.

(A quick check of Skype, a proprietary VoIP service, showed a claimed 13,499,141 people online globally while this article was being written.)