US Robotics Inc’s 56Kbps modem (CI No 3,022) is a very Internet-specific device, and as there are no standards at that speed, US Robotics kit is needed at the head end too. However, the company has a significant head start, so second tier modem manufacturers may well want to make compatible modems. Then Texas Instruments Inc jumped to the rescue and announced immediate availability of modem chip sets compliant with 56Kbps x2 technology from US Robotics, ahead of Rockwell International Inc, which has announced its own chip set but cannot ship it yet. US Robotics has been able to get the jump on its rivals because the higher speed is effected in software, by re-programming the Texas chip set, which is why Texas is able to make sets available almost immediately. Existing 28Kbps US Robotics modems can be reprogrammed – for a nominal fee, so that even if the US Robotics option comes to be seen as a kluge, few will mind paying for the upgrade while they wait for true 56Kbps modems to arrive. Texas’ operating-system-independent, and Windows-based modem chip sets are built around one of the company’s TMS320 signal processor cores. The sets cost $75 if you commit to 10,000. Lucent Technologies Inc says it will be shipping its first chip implementing 56Kbps operation by the end of the first quarter, and Motorola Inc has also said it plans to introduce the new technology in 1997, but US Robotics, which is expected to start shipping its Sportster modems to end users in February, and will offer upgrades in January, is thought to have a six-month lead.
