A New Year, A Faster Modem…Again…

14.4Kbps in 1994, 28.8Kbps in 1995, 33.6Kbps in 1996, 56Kbps in 1997, where will it end? How many of these different speed modems do you own? It is beginning to appear that every year we're going to be purchasing a newer, faster modem, or upgrading the existing modem we have. (this is similar to the Tim Taylor syndrome, need more speed)

You are probably wondering which Internet Service Provider (ISP) will be supporting connections with that new 56K modem that you received for Christmas. Well, if you're one of the early adopters of this technology, your answer is not many, if any at all anytime soon. In limited research, I have not found any Dallas/Fort Worth ISPs announcing specific implementation plans, or timelines when they will be installing or upgrading to 56K modems. Flashnet Communications (FTW) is the only ISP in the Dallas/Fort Worth area listed on the USR web page (as of 12/1/96) supporting the X2 technology (USR name for 56K modem technology) in the future, but Flashnet has not released any other information that I am aware of.

There are at least four manufacturers that have announced plans and/or products supporting this new modem speed. The catch, there has yet to be a standard defined, and it doesn't appear that there will even be a standard available until late 1997 or into 1998. Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, Lucent Technologies, Motorola Information Systems Group, and USRobotics have all announced their plans for 56K modems and chip sets available for other modem manufacturers. Of these, it appears that USR has the market share of modems installed by ISPs making it easier and less expensive for them to upgrade. More importantly, since there is no standard, none of the currently announced products will inter-operate with each other at 56K speeds, but may communicate with each other at only 33.6K speeds.

Some key technology issues:

56K modems can use standard phone lines, therefore no "special" line is required like ISDN
the quality of the phone line is critical, if you don't consistently get 28.8K or 33.6K speeds today, you probably won't be able to get 56K
56K speeds are receiving data only, transmitting data will only be up to 33.6K
your computer serial port will have to be upgraded to a new interface type, a 16550 UART will not support 56K speed
the end-to-end link must support a digital connection, therefore you probably won't be able to connect your PC and 56K modem through your office PBX/phone switch systems to an ISP
the modems at each end are different technology, therefore you and your friend won't be able to connect at 56K with each other (one end is like a server)
only a few modems have the capability to be Flash (software) or ROM (hardware) upgraded, most will not support such an upgrade so will have to be replaced (USR is a leader here, most of their modems support Flash upgrade)

After reading this brief introduction on 56K modem technology, you may feel I am being negative about the technology. I am not trying to put it down, rather bring to light some of the key issues about it, and let you decide for yourself. My recommendation would be to position yourself with modem technology that is capable of supporting this new 56K technology, but hold off trying to implement until it is a more mature and standards supporting product.

For more information and manufacturers links on 56K modems, visit this excellent URL:

http://users.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.html#Modem56K

Have a question or want to know more details about e-mail, the Internet, electronic communications or related technologies? Send me a note and I'll try to discuss it in a future article. If your company or organization would like an Internet or Networking presentation let me know. (no commercial pitch)

A New Year, A Faster Modem…Again…

Back to The Networkologist - Previous Articles