Industry Panel Issues Modem Standard
Nearly a year after modem manufacturers began selling incompatible high-speed devices, an international governing body has drafted a technology standard that has gained the support of industry leaders Rockwell Semiconductor Systems and 3Com Corp.
The compromise, temporarily dubbed V.pcm, came early Thursday at a meeting in Geneva of the International Telecommunications Union, an industry panel that sets standards for communications devices.
“The industry needs this,” said Lisa Pelgrim, a senior analyst with the research firm Dataquest. “It’s been an absolutely horrible year for the modem industry.”
The problem is that 56k modems that use 3Com technology would not work with modems incorporating Rockwell’s technology. The modems connect computers to the Internet at 56,000 bits per second.
If the modems didn’t talk together, or if an Internet service provider didn’t have the same type of modem as its customers, the promises of high-speed transmissions never materialized.
“Psychologically, we found that customers had a fear of buying one or the other,” said Moiz Beguwala, vice president and general manager of Rockwell’s personal communications division. “We hope the news will draw people out to the stores.”
Trend watchers say that, once the vendors hammer out any remaining technical issues, computer users will see a slew of new modem products on store shelves.
On Thursday, both Rockwell, based in Newport Beach, and 3Com, based in Santa Clara, announced they plan to ship products that work with the new standards within the next few weeks.
The firms said they will also release software to let users upgrade existing modems. Many of these upgrades will be available--either free of charge or for a fee, depending on when the modem was originally purchased--through the manufacturer’s Web sites.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” said Geoff Ballew, a senior analyst at Dataquest. “Consumers win because there are fewer issues of compatibility. Chip vendors win because they need this constant progression of consumers upgrading from one speed to the next to fuel overall sales.”
