US Robotics Corp, Skokie, Illinois is ready with a 56Kbps analogue modem – and Wall Street is going wild at the prospect, jumping $9.50 at $78.875 ahead of the announcement yesterday. America Online Inc, IBM Corp’s Global Network division, MCI Communications Corp and UUNet Pipex were at the party saying they would be using the new modem. But for a 56Kbps connection over phone lines, dedicated hardware is required at both the end user’s site and at the Internet service provider – and the 56Kbps channel will be one way from Internet providers to the user. US Robotics submitted a proposal for 56Kbps standards to the ITU-T last month, but that will have to be battered out with competitors such as Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc and Rockwell International, who are also working on the technology. So the US Robotics tools currently rely on the firm’s x2 proprietary technology. The cheerleading service providers are all users of US Robotics’ network hubs, making it easy to upgrade to the new technology. Hayes, more cautious, says it plans to introduce 56 kbps products next year, and says it will work closely with Rockwell and others to establish standards. Hayes agrees that 33.6Kbps will remain the most suitable option for two-way, information sharing transmissions. The faster speed, taking advantage of high-speed digital connections to the telephone network that Internet service providers and corporations already have, will easily double the speed of downloading information , it said. Last week Rockwell signed a deal with Ascend Communications Inc for Ascend to incorporate Rockwell’s 56Kbps modem technology into its MAX line of remote access hubs.
