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To: Mang Cheng who wrote (14006)	2/18/1998 8:38:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

New 'Busy Signal' Study Rates 90 National Internet Service Providers By Call Completion Rate and Average Connect Speed PR Newswire - February 18, 1998 05:20 %CPR %MLM %PUB V%PRN P%PRN LITTLETON, Colo., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM Connect was named best Dial-Up Internet Service Provider by Boardwatch Magazine after completion of an exhaustive new study of dial-up Internet access performance. The study, conducted January 1, 1998 through February 1, 1998 covered 90 national dialup service providers who each offered dialup access in at least 25 area codes across the country. Over 145,000 calls were made to 450 points of presence across the United States during the 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM prime usage period for dial-up Internet service. The study was designed to calculate call completion rates and busy signals for the 90 national service providers, along with average modem connect speeds. According to Boardwatch Editor Jack Rickard, "Customer dissatisfaction with Internet Service Providers is growing and is beginning to dramatically increase churn rates as dialup customers look for alternatives. Virtually all of it centers around one topic _- busy signals. We wanted to see if it was really a problem. It is." Call completion rates ranged from a low of 63.66% at Internet Hotline to a high of 97.85% at GroundZer0 Internet. At the low end, this means a little more than one out of every three calls is greeted with a busy signal. At the high end, slightly over 2 calls per hundred get a busy signal. The other surprise in the test data centered on average modem connect speeds. The test used both modems based on Rockwell's K56flex technology and 3COM's x2 technology to take advantage of 56 Kbps dialup connections where available. "We have assumed for nearly a year that these were two essentially peer technologies," said Rickard. "They are not." The average connect speed across all 450 ports was 32,568 bits per second. But for K56flex ports the average was 30,849 bps compared to an average 45,192 bps for x2 ports. "Basically, the x2 ISPs had a huge advantage with regards to connect speed," admitted Rickard. The final ranking of the Top Ten Dialup ISPs used a combination of call completion rate and average connect speed, weighted somewhat heavily in favor of call completion rate as the important factor. BOARDWATCH TOP TEN DIAL-UP INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ISP ATTEMPTS CONNECTS COMP SPEED VALUE IBM Connect 1886 1802 95.55% 45780 141.33 TEK Interactive Group 1765 1606 90.99% 45350 136.34 MCI 1881 1714 91.12% 44860 135.98 Micronet 1669 1457 87.30% 45590 132.89 MindSpring 1585 1468 92.62% 40080 132.70 GroundZer0 1351 1322 97.85% 34830 132.68 Fnet Corp 1539 1478 96.04% 34630 130.67 TDSNET 1380 1313 95.14% 35220 130.36 Log On America 1383 1286 92.99% 35620 128.61 WebUSA Internet Service 1902 1822 95.79% 32770 128.56 America Online, widely perceived as the busy signal bad-boy of the Internet over the past year, has added a large number of modems in the interim and just recently raised their Dialup access price from $19.95 to $21.95 per month. They did rank in the bottom third of the 90 services tested at position number 62 with an average call completion rate of 87.1% -- about two points below the 89.06% average of the test. But they were by no means the worst in the pile. IBM Connect was selected as best performing Dialup Provider based on a call completion rate of 95.55% and an average x2 connect speed of 45780 bps across 1,802 completed calls to different IBM ports across the country. "They don't fail, and they don't slow down," said Rickard of IBM. "We barely considered them a dial-up provider before this study. We do now." IBM had recently announced a change in flat-rate pricing from $19.95 for unlimited service to $19.95 for the first 100 hours with a $1.95 per hour surcharge for hours in excess of 100 per month. GroundZer0 technically had the best call completion rate at 97.85%. They completed an impressive 1322 of 1351 primetime calls over a 30 day period, issuing just 29 busy signal/no connects during the entire period. Full details of testing for all 90 national Dial-Up Internet Service Providers will be published in the Winter '98 Directory of Internet Service Providers -_ a 550 page quarterly directory listing over 4600 Internet Service Providers operating in the United States and Canada. Available at $9.95 plus $4 shipping and handling. The Directory issue will be released at the Internet Service Provider Convention (ISPCON) scheduled for March 16-19 in Baltimore Maryland. ISPCON has emerged as the annual meeting for Internet Service Providers from around the world with over 4000 ISP representatives expected for the spring event. Details on ISPCON can be obtained at ispcon.com. Boardwatch Magazine is the leading monthly trade publication for Internet Service Providers. The quarterly Directory is considered the most comprehensive guide to Internet service published. Details of both publications at boardwatch.com or by voice at 800-933-6038. SOURCE Boardwatch Magazine /CONTACT: Jack Rickard of Boardwatch Magazine, 303-973-6038/ /Web site: boardwatch.com

To: Mang Cheng who wrote (14006)	2/18/1998 6:10:00 PM
From: Immi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

Mang, It seems NO matter what good news there is we have to wait for the inventory problem to be resolved. Hopefully, it is this quarter, and we have a good march/april/may quarter. In the midst we should see the corebuilder 9000 released, and the 56k modems selling briskly... Regards, Immi (I am as patient as you, and have noticed you around for over a year. )

To: Mang Cheng who wrote (14006)	2/27/1998 1:45:00 AM
From: David S.	Respond to of 45548

3Com First To Asia With V.90 Modem Spec 02/26/98 Newsbytes, Thursday, February 26, 1998 at 16:24 HONG KONG, CHINA, 1998 FEB 26 (NB) -- By Neil Taylor, IT Daily. Although the ITU is not due to release the formal specifications for 56 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) communications until September, 3Com [NASDAQ:COMS] has become the first manufacturer to ship modems conforming to the new V.90 standard. And the new product release will also see 3Com drop the long-time US Robotics Courier and Sportster brand-names. The ITU (International Telecommunications Union) agreed upon the new 56Kbps standard on February 6, assigning it the official number v.90. The technical specifications are now frozen, but ratification has yet to be finalized. Users of 3Com's X2 modems -- which will be superseded by V.90 products -- will shortly be able to upgrade their modems through a free software download from 3Com's Web page. Upgrades are available for 3Com's US Robotics, Megahertz, Modem Pool (MP), NETServer, and I-modem ranges. According to a 3Com spokeswoman, the products will arrive in Asian markets within a few weeks of their US release. The product is already being delivered to channel in North America. Please go to Newsbytes for full story.