The Digital Communications Division of Rockwell International Corp has announced a chip set that enables personal computer users to exchange speech and data simultaneously down a single telephone line. The RC288ACi/SVD conforms to the Digital Simultaneous Voice and Data specification agreed between Rockwell, Intel Corp, US Robotics Inc and Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc (CI No 2,498). Rockwell envisages the chip set, which supports the V.34 standard for 28.8Kbps transmission, being used for personal conferencing, multi-player computer games and technical support, among other applications. Rockwell’s modem is combined with its own DigiTalk speech compression technology. This enables users to carry on a conversation down a telephone line while tr ansmitting data at speeds up to 19.2Kbps. It also detects periods of silence, when it boosts the data rate back up to 28.8Kbps. The chip set will ship next month at $100.
