Rockwell Modem Technology Gets Timely Boost From Motorola

In a key alliance for Rockwell International Corp., the company said Thursday that its new modem technology will be used in modems manufactured by Motorola. The two companies also said they have settled a patent infringement suit Motorola had filed against Rockwell.

Rockwell and its chief rival, Skokie, Ill.-based U.S. Robotics, are racing to introduce competing modem technologies that will be about twice as fast as the most popular modems on the market today. The new generation of modems allow users to download data at speeds up to 56 kilobytes per second.

Motorola is a large modem manufacturer, and Thursday’s announcement that it will build modems based on Rockwell’s technology could be a damaging blow to U.S. Robotics.

Motorola had sued Rockwell in 1995, accusing the Seal Beach-based company of infringement of six Motorola patents for modem technology. Company officials said the suit has been settled with Rockwell agreeing to obtain licenses from Motorola for the patents that had been the subject of the suit.