56-kbps standard expected
soon
By Jim Davis
May 28, 1997, 1:45 p.m. PT
update U.S Robotics (USRX) expects an
international standard for 56-kbps modems to be
set by early next year, the company said at a press
conference today.
USR has been pushing hard to get a standard set by
the International Telecommunications Union to
continue the momentum it gained by being first to
market with the faster modems.
If the new 56-kbps standard is similar enough to
x2, it might give the Skokie, Illinois-based modem
maker--already No. 1 in the United States and
world market for consumer modems--an even
greater advantage in the race to dominate 56-kbps
sales.
Since standards have not yet been set, modems
using USR's x2 technology don't operate with
modems based on Rockwell and Lucent K56flex
technology.
"We're very confident that this is a move that
eliminates any remaining confusion [over
communications standards]. We believe there's only
one international standard," said Casey Cowell,
chairman and CEO of U.S. Robotics, referring to
other efforts by Rockwell and Lucent to push their
K56flex technology through a U.S standards body,
the Telecommunications Industry Association.
Rockwell says that, contrary to popular belief, USR
hasn't gained any competitive edge by working first
with the International Telecommunications Union.
"Each of us is proposing specific technologies for
separate sections of the standard. And proposals
are coming in from a variety of other companies.
When it all comes out, it will be a collection of these
technologies, which is then agreed to," says Glen
Griffith, director of standards development at
Rockwell. It would be highly unlikely that the
standardized technology looks exactly like the x2
orK56flex protocols, he adds, but rather some
amalgam.
Earlier this year, an informal group of about 20
communications companies backing the K56flex
technology formed the Open 56K Forum, but USR
panned any independent efforts to produce a
standard. Cowell derided it is "only a marketing
effort."
"To my knowledge, that group has never actually
met. Our real win is in the acceleration of the ITU
process," he said. The Open 56K Forum, which
USR never joined, is "basically moribund,"
according to a spokesperson for the effort. The
group of about 20 companies was supposed to
work on a standard, but most were already
involved in the efforts to promote the K56flex
technology.
Cowell made the remarks while introducing new
upgrade programs meant to assuage consumers and
online service providers' fears that their equipment
would become obsolete with the move toward an
international communications standard. The
company said it would offer free upgrades for both
its desktop modems and remote access equipment
used by ISPs to the new standard, as well as a
30-day money-back guarantee. |
