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Big news! PC WEEK is reporting that AOL is expected to go live with x2 56K. A press release at AOL keyword "press" has some interesting nuggets about AOL's plans to upgrade their dial-in network, AOLnet:
ZyXEL has postponed their plans for 56K modems until the 56K standard is closer to reality, according to a company spokesperson. Thanks to super sleuth Louis Kouplen for telling us that the ZyXEL page we linked to in the upgrade guide had disappeared.
Motorola has announced free software upgrades to the final ITU 56K standard for its 56K modems. The upgrades require free registration in the Tidal Wave program, and includes other benefits, such as a rebate of up to $50 on Internet service with Epoch. The same press release announced that a 56K version of Motorola's Montana PCMCIA cards for laptops will be available in third quarter 1997.
Buy a modem, win a Porsche. That's the deal behind Hayes' More Performance with Hayes (MPH) contest. Buy and register an Accura modem between June 15th, 1997 and August 31st, 1997, and you're eligible to win a Porsche Boxster or one of more than 800 other prizes.
Hot fun in the summer time. An Ascend press release anticipates that up to one million Ascend K56flex dial-in ports will be available by the end of summer. Ascend makes the server equipment used by some of the nation's largest ISPs, and a thousand smaller ISPs.
The Ascend press release also cites a December report by the Dell'Oro Group that Ascend servers account for 2.2 million digital dial-in ports, but that U.S. Robotics servers account for only 162,000 digital dial-in ports. However, there is dispute over Ascend's representation of the data. The numbers quoted are actually for ISDN PRI B-channels only, not total digital ports. Also, the numbers are for shipments between 1994 and 1996, so it isn't accurate to use them to total represent market share.
Wisecom is offering 56K upgrades for models WS-3314JS3/W and WS-3314JS3/BU purchased between November 1, 1996 and June 30, 1997. Upgrade cost is only $49, with free return shipping. Best of all, you have your choice of upgrading to K56flex or x2. The upgrade expires October 31, 1997.
GVC is offering x2 56K upgrades for their T2 series of internal and external 33.6 modems. Upgrade price is $99 plus $10 shipping and handling. GVC expects the upgrades to be available by July 15. For upgrades from other manufacturers, see the 56K Upgrade Guide.
GVC has a list of Canadian ISPs offering x2.
A TDK press release states that TDK will provide free upgrades to the final ITU standard for its 56K modems.
With his superhuman powers of perception, Ronald Joscher noticed that PC World's June Bugs and Fixes column discusses past problems with early Rockwell chipsets used in Boca Research and Motorola modems. Both companies stopped shipment of the modems long ago, and have new, bug-fixed versions.
Motorola is not recalling the early modems. If your modem is affected, you can swap it through your retailer, or call 800-4AMODEM. The problem affected very few modems. Shipment of bug-fixed models resumed April 15.
Changes at 56K.COM
The old "Companies supporting 56K" page has been replaced by a new page, "ISPs offering 56K access." If you work for a company that offers 56K service, please email me. One future project will be to list the 10, 25, or 50 largest ISPs and their plans for 56K access.
Some of the previous special reports are now available in the special reports archive. Included are "Beware Winmodems" and "Bonding: 112K, 168K, and Beyond."
I had to make a few changes to the front page of the site in order to accommodate the special reports list . I've also made some other changes to the front page (principally, changing from DT/DD tags to my old pal blockquote). If these changes cause any problems in your browser, let me know.
I've added an awards page to keep up with 56K.COM's trophies.
The merger between 3Com and U.S. Robotics is official. 3Com has a press release and more. A FAQ states that "the name "U.S. Robotics" will continue to play a major role on many of our products." This contradicts earlier reports that 3Com would drop the U.S. Robotics brand name. For consumers, the most immediate effect of a merger between telecommunications giant 3Com and modem giant U.S. Robotics will be a confusing web site.
3Com and USR may have been the king and queen of the prom, but less glamorous companies have been on bended knee of late. InfoWorld has a story about GTE's acquisition of BBN Planet.
Bob Metcalf's monthly InfoWorld column looks at Teledesic's plans to launch satellites to provide Internet service through satellite dishes.
PC World has an article about the issues involved in upgrading today's 56K modems to the final 56K standard.
If you prefer to think of 56K, cable modems, and ISDN in terms of stock performance rather than modem performance, the Silicon Investor is the place for you. The communications message board is of special interest.
A TeleChoice story quotes a Cable World article saying that 22,000 households now have cable modem service. The spin on the story is that this is a sign of rapid cable modem deployment, but the numbers are tiny compared to the millions of households using analog modems.
