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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pass pass who wrote (23626)	11/16/1997 12:43:00 AM
From: Bald Eagle	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 61433

<< Why don't we do a survey? How many here bought a 56k modem in the past 3 months? >> Oops, I guess I'm still in the middle ages, I've still only got 28K, but when I connect to my ISP, I usually get connected at less than 28K, so why should I spend the extra on a 56K modem.

To: pass pass who wrote (23626)	11/16/1997 1:01:00 AM
From: Steve Rolfe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

An article I stumbled across on ZDNet... You may already be familiar with all of this, but if not... Licensing Rights May Delay 56Kbps Modem Standard Manufacturers Continue To Pledge Free Upgrades by Keith Kirkpatrick Originally published in the December 1997 issue Since last spring, the modem market has been muddled by the rivalry between two incompatible 56Kbps standards. Now it seems technology-ownership squabbles among modem suppliers could slow the introduction of interoperable 56Kbps modems, even if the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) approves a single standard. The ITU met in September to draft a preliminary proposal for a common 56Kbps standard, with hopes to release a final specification by January 1998. But analysts say that once a standard is set, licensing issues will remain a thorny issue for hardware vendors, who will need to cough up cash for each of piece of technology included in the standard. For example, 3Com Corp. has agreed to license its x2 technology to other vendors for a one-time fee of $100,000. But a former Bell Labs engineer, Brent Townshend, says that both current 56Kbps standards--x2 and K56Flex, championed by Rockwell International and Lucent Technologies--use technology he invented, and he wants to be compensated. Although 3Com has agreed to pay Townshend a licensing fee of $1.25 per client modem and $9 per port, Lucent and Rockwell are likely to fight Townshend's claims in court. Lisa Pelgrim, a senior analyst with Dataquest, says it's unlikely that any standard-setting will be affected by legal action. "In all modem standards, there are tons of little pieces of technology going into it," Pelgrim says. "[Technology ownership] lawsuits have happened over smaller issues." Despite the controversy and market confusion, Gary Arlen, president of Bethesda, Md.-based Arlen Communications, says he's impressed at the relatively strong sales to date of both x2 and K56Flex modems. A key reason for this success, Arlen says, is that virtually all modem manufacturers have promised their customers free upgrades once an ITU standard is set. "I am amazed at the number of 56Kbps modems that are moving," Arlen says. "What's so [ironic] is that we're talking about high speed, yet the standards and regulations are what's slowing it down."

To: pass pass who wrote (23626)	11/16/1997 8:55:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 61433

Although I am long both ASND and COMS, this stupid standard issue should have been resolved 5 months ago. Both companies have lost a lot of money for this pissing contest. Pass Pass, No truer statement could have been made. Not only has it cost the companies money, it has cost me a lot of money. Looking back on this standard issue, one might assume nothing more stupid could have occured. This has not only been a problem for COMS and ASND. The ISPs have also been wrestling with the issue. Two different phone numbers. One for each standard. They are the customers of the above companies and the companies did not take their needs into account. Glenn

To: pass pass who wrote (23626)	11/16/1997 4:30:00 PM
From: Sector Investor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

<<Why don't we do a survey? How many here bought a 56k modem in the past 3 months? How many of those who bought chose x2? ... This post is brought to you by the X2 technology. This post is brought to you by the X2 technology.>> I'm currently using a PC-card K-Flex in my laptop connected to AOL. I had a PC-card X2, but last month the doorbell rang and my dog got excited and ran right through the modem cord and ripped out the X-jack. Ouch! PC-card modems are still expensive. Interestly, I never got over 33,333 with the X2 and 36,000 with the K-Flex. It has to be AOL limiting my speed somehow. My file Xfer time is noticeably faster than with the X2, but I'm getting occasional disconnects that I didn't get with the X2. I don't think there is ASND equipment on the other end.