BUFFALO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 1997--VoCAL Technologies today announced that it has made several technical breakthroughs, which significantly improve the real-world performance of 56K modem technology.
VoCAL, with scores of man-years of experience designing telephone systems and modem solutions for central office and remote sites, is submitting its second round of technology innovations to the TR30.1 committee (which has as its main purpose the formation of a 56K modem agreement) of the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) at its meeting this week in Norcross, Ga.
The VoCAL innovations address issues of digital impairment, spectral shaping, and non-linear distortion and promise to improve the performance and robustness of modems using either the Lucent/Rockwell "K56flex" or the US Robotics "X2" approach to digital modems. In addition, complete V.PCM solutions for communications OEMs will be available from VoCAL at the Spring Comdex show in Atlanta (June 1997).
"The 56K modem situation is a sorry state of affairs," claimed Dr. Victor Demjanenko, chief software architect and theoretician at VoCAL, "complicated by over-hyped marketing, underperforming products, lack of delivery, delays, and subterfuge of the time-honored data communications standards setting process. VoCAL hopes our participation in and submissions to the TR30.1 committee can help break the deadlock and improve the performance for all end users."
VoCAL's experience in the telephone network industry has led the company to take a different view of pulse code modulation. The company's contribution to the TR30.1 committee, embedded in
FIVE separate proposals submitted in the Norcross meeting, provides a means to determine and adapt to various digital network impairments with every call. Overcoming these impairments, which include digital attenuation pads of 3dB and 6dB, robbed bit signalling, PCM sample slips, and PCM code conversions, is crucial for optimal PCM modem operation.
The VoCAL procedure provides a mechanism for detecting the digital network attenuation affecting the line and for selection of a set of PCM symbols and a mapping distribution to compensate for the
specific detected digital network attenuation.
As a result of the systematic mapping process within the digital network, VoCAL's technical contribution reliably addresses the FCC power limitations and provides for the highest data throughput rates under any digital network attenuation situation. The incorporation of the VoCAL technique into the upcoming V.PCM standard will be straightforward and would allow for greater network coverage.
"The end result is that more users will see more throughput closer to the promised 56K under real-world conditions," added Dr. Demjanenko.
According to simulation tests run by VoCAL in its labs in Buffalo and Santa Clara, Calif., the typical V.PCM modem attains performance improvements of only 25% (40 kbps) over a V.34 modem under most real-world line conditions; with the VoCAL approach, this improvement soars to 60% (54 kbps).
VoCAL is committed to the standardization process, which has been the foundation of success for the modem industry and for data communications in general. With customers in both the consumer
and central-site side of the business, the Company is committed to supporting international standards once such standards are set by the appropriate governing bodies. All VoCAL-based solutions will be upgraded via software updates to be in compliance with the international standards once such standards are available.
VoCAL Technologies is a leading supplier of V.34 modem technology and custom product design/integration services. The company's software solution has been ported to eleven different platforms from vendors in Japan, Europe, and North America and runs on DSP semiconductors from Analog Devices, the DSP Group, and others. |
