Motorola Inc’s Information Systems Group believes it can now cater for all areas of the modem market following the announcement of a device for the small to medium business. Based on the company’s 326XFast V.34 series of corporate modems, the Accessway 3460 is said to offer users the a low cost of ownership and high reliability. The modem has been classified with the Six Sigma Standard which guarantees it is 99.9997% defect free, translating to a one in a million fault rate. The company believes it is bridging a gap as its customer’s markets change, moving towards a client-server environment. Running at 33.6Kbps it can be used with dial-up or 2 wire leased lines and delivers synchronous and asynchronous operation in one unit. The 3460 will run on any operating system and has been primarily designed for use with Windows 95, perceived by the company as common among its target market. It’s a plug and play device, described as Network Manageable. Motorola’s European product manager for the Information Services Group, Jon Myall said the company intends the modem to be easily and quickly installed by Information Technology managers, requiring a minimal amount of support. The 3460 has also been designed with a graphical user interface to enable easier understanding of its performance. The product will be released in Eastern Europe and the Middle East in mid June, followed by the rest of Europe, and then the US around July. Prices for the Accessway Central Rack are expected to be around $2,000, the product is capable of holding 16 cards, each with two modems and Fast’R Vu configuration. The Stack-Six will be $180, the 3460 card with two modems about $900 and the 3460 stand alone modem will be $550.
