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56K Modems to Improve

V.90 Plus modems could speed uploads and connect more quickly.

By Randy Ross, PCWorld   

Existing 56K modems theoretically download data at speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second and upload it up to 33.6 kbps. The V.90 Plus standard would boost uploading speeds to 45 kbps or more, says 3Com spokesperson Mark Bisaillon.

Faster uploading means a shorter wait when you exchange large files such as presentations. The improved performance could also mean better performance for data and video conferencing applications, and for replicating databases such as Lotus Notes.

The proposed V.90 Plus standard is being reviewed by the International Telecommunications Union and could be ratified within a year, Bisaillon said.

However, he expects some vendors to introduce products that offer faster uploading in the summer of 2000, before the standard has been ratified. Whether the early products might be upgraded to conform to the standard is not yet known. Bisaillon said 3Com would not introduce products before the standard was approved.

Quicker Handshakes

V.90 Plus products could also make connections faster because the technology can reduce the amount of handshaking required to make a connection. Handshaking, which you experience as the squealing sounds that modems make when they first connect, takes about 15 seconds now. V.90 Plus products could take as little as 5 seconds, Bisaillon said.

The proposal currently has the support of two major modem component makers, 3Com and Conexant (the semiconductor unit spun off from Rockwell Systems last year). However, whether a third influential vendor, Lucent, would support the proposed standard was not clear at press time. Infighting among component makers over proposed standards frequently delays new products.