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March 24, 1997, Issue: 728 ResellerNews
Glitch Found In Rockwell 56-Kbps Modem Chipsets
By Ken Presti
Newport Beach, Calif. -- Rockwell Semiconductor Systems may have stumbled in its ongoing 56-Kbps modem war with U.S. Robotics Inc.
The trouble surfaced March 14, when Rockwell announced a delay to the volume ramp of its client-side ROM-based modem chipsets due to a marked loss of throughput under certain conditions.
The problem was discovered by Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., which called a halt to further sales of its K56Flex ModemSURFR and VoiceSURFR 56-Kbps modems after field trials revealed that speeds dropped approximately 5,000 bits per second in certain geographical regions. Sources said the problem was highly prevalent in the eastern United States.
"Extensive field tests by our lead customers identified certain network configurations where performance improvements could be made," said Dwight Decker, president of Rockwell, in a prepared statement.
"This brief delay will result in a more robust client-side product and still not impact our overall schedule for end-to-end K56Flex deployment," he said.
The necessary adjustments to the digital signal processor (DSP) code were determined by March 16. The revised software will be burned into silicon, with volume production likely to get under way later this week, said Rockwell officials.
Full production of the ROM-based chipsets now are expected to match closely with the scheduled volume ramp of RAM-based chipsets which will continue to be software upgradable, even after the modems are in the hands of customers.
"My personal opinion is that it won't make much of a difference because we're only talking one or two weeks," said John Saucada, vice president of sales for Alpha Data Communications Inc., a Houston-based network VAR and Internet specialist. "There is definitely a rush toward 56K, but I think people will be able to hold off a little bit longer without impacting their ability to do business. The question is how much of a leg-up this provides for [advocates of U.S. Robotics' competing] x2 [technology]."
Rockwell and U.S. Robotics each have non-interoperable 56Kbps technologies. Rockwell's platform is marketed as K56Flex.
3Com Corp., the Santa Clara, Calif.-based vendor involved in a $6.6 billion merger with U.S. Robotics, plans to support both technologies for the near term, due to its previous commitments to Rockwell-based products.
Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc., meanwhile, has a similar strategy in mind. The Atlanta-based Rockwell advocate announced its intent to acquire U.S. Robotics ally Cardinal Technologies Inc., Lancaster, Pa., for an undisclosed price. Cardinal last month unveiled its modems based on the x2 technology.
"This gives the opportunity for Hayes to hedge our bets because people can come to us for either one," said Alan Adamson, Hayes' director of PC products. "Hayes products will remain K56Flex only. Cardinal will stay with x2, but in terms of unit volumes, we think [x2] will only represent about 10 percent."
Discussions for a 56-Kbps industry standard already are under way. Final specifications are anticipated within a year.
Copyright r 1997 CMP Media Inc.
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