IBD article. When Does 56K Really Mean 56K Speeds?
Date: 4/9/98
Author: Paul Korzeniowski
Trying to reduce the time it takes to surf the
Internet, you upgrade to a 56K modem, the
fastest available. But to your surprise, you see
no improvement.
What's the problem? You discover your
Internet service provider can't yet provide
56K transmission speeds.
It's easy for users to get 56K modems. It's
much more difficult for ISPs to upgrade to the
point that users can actually utilize their 56K
modems.
Why's that? ISPs have to upgrade hundreds
or even thousands of modems in their vast
networks. They must also upgrade supporting
products on their networks, like
remote-access concentrators.
And they have to do all this without letting
their networks crash.
In short, ISP deployment of 56
kilobit-per-second services is a step behind
customer purchases of the new modems.
But ISPs are tackling the problem. By the
end of the year, users of 56K modems will
find themselves accessing the Net more and
more often at 56K speeds, not the slower
speeds that still dominate today.
ISPs have one good excuse for not moving
sooner: Two competing standards for 56K
modems were battling in the market.
One group was led by 3Com Corp. of Santa
Clara, Calif., which was advocating its X2
standard. The other group was led by Lucent
Technologies Inc. of Murray Hills, N.J., and
Rockwell International Inc. of Newport
Beach, Calif. They promoted their K56Flex
standard.
But the outlook for modem suppliers - and
Net surfers - has brightened. In January, the
International Telecommunications Union
released a draft of a new standard that
combines a bit of both X2 and K56Flex, and
can work with either.
The ITU expects to ratify the specification in
September. It almost surely will be accepted
by everyone in the industry. So equipment
makers plan to start making compliant 56K
modems and remote- access systems this
quarter.
If you already own a 56K modem, you'll be
able to conform to the new standard by
downloading free software the vendors will
make available.
3Com made its software available for
download March 27. You can get it through
the company's Web site at
3com.com. Rockwell and Lucent
haven't yet said when their software will be
available.
ISPs already are gearing up. Netcom
On-Line Communication Services Inc.,
WorldCom Inc. unit UUNet, and MCI
Communications Corp. say they'll upgrade
their devices to the new standard in coming
months. They're awaiting equipment from
makers.
Netcom plans to have the 56K service
available in 300 cities by year-end.
In December, AT&T Corp.'s WorldNet unit
had announced plans to deploy X2
technology in 56 cities and K56Flex service
in 31 cities by June.
Customers outside those 87 cities will be able
to use an 800 number to access 56K
connections, says Rose Klimovich, a product
line manager at AT&T WorldNet.
So life will become easier for the ISPs. As
the two camps were battling, ISPs faced
three options: Hold off deploying the
higher-speed service, back one side or roll
out services supporting both.
Many held back, awaiting whatever standard
emerged.
''ISPs didn't want to get caught in the cross
fire of a messy standards battle,'' explained
Kiran Narsu, an analyst with market
researcher Giga Information Group in
Westport, Conn.
But a few ISPs did choose a side. By late
'97, San Jose, Calif.-based Netcom, for
example, had rolled out 56K services in 60
locations. The ISP went with 3Com's
approach because of a long-standing
relationship with the network equipment
supplier.
If you had an X2 modem, if your ISP used
X2 and if traffic and other factors permitted,
you could connect to the Net at 56K speeds.
Otherwise, you would connect at a slower
speed.
MCI also had decided on 3Com's standard,
deploying it in 280 U.S. cities. ''We've been
working closely with 3Com for more than
three years, so (the choice) made sense for
us,'' said Bob Smith, a senior marketing
manager at MCI.
Fairfax, Va.-based UUNet added 56K
support in 490 locations. It opted for
K56Flex because it relies on network
concentrators from Ascend Communications
Inc. of Alameda, Calif., and Ascend had put
Rockwell modems into its network
concentrators.
The choices made life difficult for customers.
In order to operate at the higher speed, both
ends of an Internet connection must support
the same protocol. So users with a K56Flex
modem wanting to use the Netcom or MCI
networks had to operate at speeds slower
than 56K. And X2 users had the same
problem using UUNet Internet services. The
new standard will solve those problems.
The largest online service, America Online
Inc., has upgraded about 80% of its 700,000
modems, making 56K available in 540 cities.
The ISP made half its connections X2 and
half K56Flex. Now, they'll be made
compliant with the new standard.
Because of the standards debate and ISP
uncertainties, sales of 56K modems didn't
meet expectations last year. Makers sold 11
million in '97, but about 30 million had been
expected, says VisionQuest 2000 Inc., a
Moorpark, Calif. market researcher.
(C) Copyright 1998 Investors Business Daily,
Inc.
Metadata: COMS LU ROK NETC WCOM MCIC T
ASND AOL I/3574 I/4890 I/3662 I/4891 I/3241 E/IBD
E/SN1 E/FRT E/TECH |
