Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 21:57:33 -0400 (EDT) From: BCPL.NET SysAdmin To: BCPL.NET News Subject: BCPL.NET NEWS: Faster Modems On The Horizon ---------------------------- FASTER MODEMS ON THE HORIZON ---------------------------- When the V.90 standard for 56K modems was announced a couple of years ago it was widely believed to be the final gasp for conventional modems. It was thought to be impossible to ever wring more speed out of an analog modem operating over a normal telephone line. Not surprisingly, that has proven to be wrong. Two new speed-enhancing modem standards (V.44 & V.92) that are nearing ratification by the International Telephone Union (ITU) will begin to affect the modem market before the end of this year. Several BCPL.NET customers have already asked about them, so here is what we know at this time. V.44 is a new data compression standard intended to replace the V.42 compression standard currently used by all modern modems. V.44 offers greater compression of some types of data (HTML for example), and is expected to decrease download times for Web pages and other suitable data by 20 to 40 percent. V.92 is a replacement for the V.90 standard used by all current 56K modems. V.92 offers three major improvements over the V.90 standard: o V.92 has a feature called "quick connect" that simplifies the handshaking between two 56K modems when they first connect. This is expected to reduce the time it takes to get connected by 10 to 12 seconds. o Under V.92 the maximum theoretical download speed (from ISP to you) is still 56 kilobits per second. However the theoretical maximum upload speed (from you to ISP) is increased from V.90's 33.6 kilobits per second to 48 kilobits per second under V.92. The technology that makes this possible is called "pulse stream modulation" (PCM). o If you have Call Waiting service on the telephone line used by your modem, V.92's "modem-on-hold" feature will let you suspend your modem connection (without actually disconnecting) for up 16 minutes to take an incoming call or to make an outgoing call. Once you finish with the phone call, you can resume using the modem without having to make a completely new connection. For some customers this may eliminate the need for a second phone line for the modem. Some of the major modem manufacturers are already working on upgrades and new models designed to meet the proposed V.44 and V.92 standards, and some consumer-grade modems meeting the new standards may be on the market as early as late Summer. However the ITU has given V.44 and V.92 only preliminary approval, so there will probably not be a massive move to the new standards (especially among makers of ISP-grade modems) until final ratification by the ITU. This is expected to occur at the ITU's September or November meeting. We know that Cisco Systems, the manufacturer of our access servers and modems, is working on firmware to upgrade their current line of V.90 modems to V.92, but details are very sketchy at this time. If past major upgrades are any indication, Cisco probably will not release their V.92 upgrade until after final ratification of the new standard by the ITU. That's all we know at this time, but stay tuned for further developments. To whet your appetites, here are several Web sites where you will find information on the new standards: http://www.56k.com/reports/v92.shtml http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2000/0717v92.html http://www4.zdnet.com:80/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2604414,00.html http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/146/pressroom/2000/jul00/sp_071100b.htm http://www.usr.com/pr07112000.html -- BCPL.NET INTERNET SERVICES CONTACTS: ----------------------------------- Web Site: http://www.bcpl.net Administration & Policy: ispadmin@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 Sales, Renewals, Account Status: accounts@bcpl.net 410-887-4172 Technical Support (Help Desk): help@bcpl.net 410-887-3297 Usenet News Newsgroup Requests news-admin@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 E-Mail & Newsgroup Abuse Reports: abuse@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 Domain Name Service Issues: dnsadmin@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 FAX: 410-887-2091