A little news on the 56 kbps standards race:(emphasis added)
Boca First To Test Rockwell 56Kbps Modem Technology
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1997 JAN 21 (Newsbytes) -- By Bob Woods.
Boca Research Inc. [NASDAQ:BOCI] said it will be the first modem
manufacturer to test the new K56Plus 56 kilobits per second (Kbps)
analog modem technology from Rockwell International's [NYSE:ROK]
Semiconductor Systems division.
Boca Research officials said their company is the first to receive
Rockwell's K56Plus technology, so it can be tested.
Officials at the modem manufacturer said they plan to have a "short,
high-quality development cycle while delivering the most robust" 56Kbps
product to customers.
Rockwell has signed more than 300 Internet service providers (ISPs)
and online services, along with 100 modem manufacturers, to support
K56Plus, Newsbytes notes.
"We've picked the best technology partner that has an 'in' with the
best ISPs," Gale Blackburn, Boca Research director of corporate
communications, told Newsbytes.
Meantime, US Robotics, which has developed a competing 56Kbps
technology called "x2," said it has inked more than 100 ISPs and online
services to partner with it in promoting its technology.
Both US Robotics and Rockwell have said their individual technologies
will be able to talk to each other after an industry standard is
passed, Newsbytes notes.
Company officials said they anticipate initial shipments of its
56Kbps products to leave Boca Research's warehouse next month.
Boca Research also said owners of any brand of 28.8 or 33.6Kbps modem
can trade up to a Boca 56Kbps modem, although Blackburn couldn't
disclose a price for the upgrade because of "competitive reasons."
Rockwell is also promising a chip upgrade that will make current Boca
Research 28.8 or 33.6Kbps modems fully industry-compliant with other
North American standards-based 56Kbps products, after the new
specification is finalized. Non industry-compliant Boca Research modems
will also qualify for the upgrade, officials added.
Distribution of international chip sets will be governed by
individual requirements of each countries.
In general, 56Kbps technology uses a combination of analog phone
lines and digital lines at the ISP end of the connection to surpass the
current highest speed of 33.6Kbps, Newsbytes notes.
Boca Research's World Wide Web page is at bocaresearch.com
.
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(19970121/Press Contacts: Gale Blackburn, Boca Research Inc., 561-997-
6227, ext. 305/Reported By Newsbytes News Network:
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