INTRODUCTION

   Up until roughly a year ago where i live ISP's (internet service providers) provided 100Mbps modem/router models to their ADSL/VDSL subscribers (some still only give 1GbE models to VDSL subscribers) and if you've been following our past reviews (or if you've looked into the web interface of one such model) then you should already be aware that these usually lack many useful features and settings (cut-down or slim versions as we like to call them). Unfortunately since the majority of network hardware manufacturers focus primarily in the development and release of standalone routers there aren't nearly as many choices when it comes to modem/routers and that has always been a problem for consumers. AVM is probably one of a handful manufacturers that still focus in releasing high performance modem/routers and today with us we have their FRITZ!Box 7560 AC1300 VDSL/ADSL Modem Router.

   AVM offers a wide range of products for high-speed broadband connectivity and smart home networking. With its FRITZ! product line, AVM is a leading manufacturer of broadband devices for DSL, cable, LTE (4G) and fiber optics in Germany and Europe. Smart Home products based on wireless LAN, DECT and powerline standards provide for an intelligent as well as secure home. The operating system FRITZ!OS makes handling all FRITZ! products easy. Thanks to free updates all FRITZ! products regularly receive new functions for more convenience and increased security. FRITZ! is the leading brand for home networking in Germany. Founded in Berlin in 1986, from the outset the company has focused on developing its own secure, innovative products for broadband connections. In 2016 the communications specialist had 660 employees and generated a turnover of 440 million euros.

   Just like many other manufacturers AVM uses numbers to categorize their products so although the FRITZ!Box 7560 may not be on equal footing with the 3490 (last two numbers reveal the performance category of each model) which we reviewed last it does comes with DECT base station (supports up to 6 handsets) and IP telephony features (including a useful answering machine) like the 7490 which we had with us a couple of years ago. It's also fully compatible with VDSL2/ADSL2 lines since it comes ready with a built-in modem (up to 100Mbit for VDSL lines with support for full vectoring) and also features dual-band AC1300 (AC1316 to be exact) Wi-Fi connectivity (5GHz 802.11ac at 866Mbps and 2.4GHz 802.11n at 450Mbps), 4 Gigabit RJ45 LAN ports, analog telephone port and a single USB 2.0 port. For the FRITZ!Box 7560 AVM has paired the Intel AnyWan GRX350 CPE Network Processor (dual-core with integrated Gigabit Ethernet Switch, PHYs, VoIP engine and codecs) with their XWAY VRX318 DSL transceiver, 3x3 802.11ac Wave-2 radio solution by Qualcomm (Peregrine QCA9882), 3-stream 802.11n radio solution by Qualcomm (Osprey AR9381), 1GB NAND flash by MXIC, 5 antennas and a total of 256MB DDR3L-1600 DRAM (by Nanya in our sample). Just like with all of the modem/routers we've received by AVM the FRITZ!Box 7560 uses their FRITZ!OS which today is up to version 06.83 (also the one used for this review).