• Recommend:
• 0 Comments

56-kbps Modem Upgrade Strategies Abound

USR isn%squott the only 56-kbps vendor willing to guarantee modem buyers an upgrade to the ITU standard.

By Brian McWilliams, PCWorld   

If you%squotve been hesitant to plunk down the money for a 56-kilobits-per-second modem using either the x2 or K56flex protocols, you can feel a bit more secure these days. Most vendors will have a free or inexpensive upgrade strategy in place when the International Telecommunications Union finally hammers out a 56-kbps standard early next year. But look before you leap.

U.S. Robotics%squot widely reported %dquotx2 delivers%dquot campaign promises buyers of its x2 modems a free upgrade to the ITU 56-kbps standard, which is expected in early 1998. USR said it expected to deliver the free upgrade via a software patch, but vowed to provide new hardware if that%squots what is required to bring an x2 user up to the standard.

The bold campaign may have given USR the upper hand in the 56-kbps marketing wars; but in fact, several companies using the competing Rockwell/Lucent K56flex technology in their modems announced similar free upgrade programs months ago.

%dquotWith all of the screaming from x2...a lot of the other companies%squot stuff didn%squott get through the noise,%dquot complained Joe Formichelli, president of Hayes Microcomputer. In early May, Hayes quietly announced a free upgrade to the final international standard for all of its 56-kbps products--even if it means replacing the user%squots modem.

Similarly, last November, Motorola promised a free upgrade to the forthcoming ITU standard to users who sign up for its TidalWave upgrade protection plan.

But while most 56-kbps modem vendors say they%squotll offer buyers an upgrade path to the ITU standard, not all at this point are willing to match USR%squots promise of new hardware.

Diamond Multimedia%squots 56-kbps product manager Mike Reed said today that the firm%squots Supra Express 56-kbps modem is designed to be software-upgradable, and the company is committed to offering users an upgrade path to the ITU. But Diamond is not ready to announce specifics about the upgrade until the ITU standard itself becomes clearer.

Frank Manning, president of Zoom Telephonics, also said that his company%squots 56-kbps modems are software-upgradable, and he%squots optimistic Zoom can offer a free upgrade to the ITU standard. But Manning said brazen promises about free hardware upgrades are irresponsible to both a company%squots shareholders and its customers.

%dquotIf you%squotre fiscally responsible, certainly signing up for something where you had to do a hardware swap would be not very responsible,%dquot said Manning. %dquotOnce we commit, we%squotll mean it. But we don%squott do these things carelessly. I think that, honestly, in USR%squots upgrade from 33.6 kbps to 56 kbps, there was a lot of false promises. I think there were a lot of disappointed people who thought they%squotd have a software-upgradable product where there wasn%squott.%dquot

Today, Logicode Technology, which sells 56-kbps modems using x2 technology from U. S. Robotics, said that it has been offering a free software upgrade to the ITU standard since March, when it began shipping its x2-based, 56-kbps Quicktel modems.