Review Time

 The marketing/sales campaign by the modem manufacturers has been relentless. Many benefits have come to users in that to obtain sales, the modem manufactures added upgrade capabilities to most of their modem models in stead of just the top of the line models. Nearly every name brand modem manufacturer has provided EPROM flash upgrade capability so that the modems would be purchased now instead of waiting for the final standard to be released. 

 Early 56 Kbps modem up graders were rewarded for the most part with increased speed, both download and upload. Granted, it seems as if the modem sales departments failed to mention that we would never legally reach 56 Kbps because of an FCC rule limiting analog transmissions to 52 Kbps. And, we discovered that the sales departments had not told us about the telco service line limitations, ie., that only about twenty five percent of the installed POTS telephone lines to homes would handle even 52 kbps transmissions. And, again we discovered that the 56 kbps speed worked only on the download and we still had to contend with v.34 speeds on the upload side. 

 As stated, there were still benefits from the 56 Kbps modems. I ran tests between two of the name brands, one, a 56Flex and the other, a x2. I purchased a Hayes Accura 56Flex internal and upgraded my USR Courier v.Everything to x2. I immediately experienced connect and download speeds at the top end of v.34 (28.8 Kbps) and v.34bis (33.6 Kbps) from both modems. The Hayes would give 31 to 42 Kbps downloads nearly every time. The Courier provided 31-33 Kbps to 42 Kbps downloads. The Courier connected nearly every time to my ISP at 52 - 56 Kbps. The Hayes required some Initialation String tweaking in the Win 95 dial-up networking (DUN) dialer. I did not have to do anything to the Courier. We also discovered that the special dial-up number provided by the ISP didn't matter very much. I had a hard time connecting to the 56Flex number with the Hayes, but never had any trouble connecting the Hayes to the x2 number. 

 Then, I started experiencing 9,600 bps connect speeds on the Courier. I called USR Tech Services first and after extensive testing, the USR Tech Rep determined that I should ship the Courier back for EPROM repair. I did and after some time, got the modem back. It connected at 9,600 bps when re-connected. Again, I called USR for help. This time, after testing, we determined that the telco POTS line I use for data was bad or "faulted". The USR Rep gave me the old computer salute "It's not my problem!" and said I was on my own. I called SW Bell, in a huff, and while talking to the SWB service representative, she checked my phone line and told me there was a line fault outside my house. She placed a priority on the repair and about 3:00 pm the next day, the lineman called me to say the line had been repaired. He stated that he had found evidence of a repair to another line which had torn the shielding from my line and caused a short. Upon connecting with the Courier, I again got 48 + Kbps connect speeds. There is a moral here. The 56 Kbps modems are a good indicator of the condition of one's phone lines. If one suddenly experiences low connect speeds with the modem which has been working OK, then call SW Bell first and ask for a line check. 

What Others are Saying

 Two new technologies are pushing the 56 Kbps analog systems. The modem manufacturers want 56 Kbps standards so they can recoup development costs before these new technologies by-pass 56 Kbps. The new technologies are Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and cable modem technology. The 56 Kbps standard which has been named v.PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) may be an interim standard until the final standards are developed. Rockwell is pushing digital modem technology based on the Digital Subscriber Line which should deliver data at 1 Mbps which it is calling Consumer Digital Subscriber Line (CDSL). Lucent Technologies has another technology which offers 56 Kbps - 56 kbps (both directions). Diamond is offering what it calls Shotgun technology which couples multiple 56 kbps modems together, ie., 2 56 Kbps modems coupled would provide 112 Kbps speeds. It would take two POSTS telco lines. And probably the ISP would charge for two connections. The Shotgun technology is supposed to work with older 28.8 Kbps modems as well. 

 Even though the ITU standard is ready, modem vendors will not have the final standard developed into a v.PCM protocol until mid year. Which brings us to the point of this article, choose a modem which is guaranteed up-gradable by flashing the EPROM with downloadable software code. This means choosing a name brand modem which has written assurances of software upgradability. 

 The interim upgrade code from most vendors has bugs and is proving hard to correct. There are reported problems with the code as well as the vendor Web sites which are proving to have bugs as well. Web sites are also becoming overloaded with individuals who want their upgrade code. Most of the sites have experienced overloads of requests for upgrades. 

How to Choose

 A recent modem test by PC Week's Netweek group came to the same conclusion I have experienced. 56 Kbps modems are faster than v.34 units, but these tests and my own experience shows no big difference between x2 and 56Flex. This might be a key point to remember in that purchase, NO BIG Difference. The key is to BUY A NAME BRAND from one of the US modem manufacturers. 56 Kbps modems will all come with installed protocols from one of two places, either x2 from 3Com/USR or 56Flex from Rockwell/Lucent. 

 One more point may be to ASK YOUR ISP WHAT 56 Kbps PROTOCOL THEY SUPPORT BEFORE THE PURCHASE. Most of the local ISP's have established dial-up support for both protocols, some have not. 

 The Netweek test looked at the Diamond SupraEspress 56, the Hayes Accura 56Flex, the Motorola Modem surfer, and two US Robotics modems, the Courier and the Sportster. Netweek concluded that there were no big differences. They did state that the Diamond SupraExpress 56 had the most consistent connections, and fastest overall throughput, about 50 Kbps. They concluded that the Hayes Accura did the best under noisy line conditions. And, the USR Courier was the best built. I haven't used a Diamond modem. 

 Choose the modem supported by your ISP, use it, and upgrade when the final ITU standard is available from your modem vendor. 

 There are PC Card modems with 56 Kbps capability for the Road Warrior. The current models of laptops are powerful enough to handle the 56 kbps speed of v.PCM. Hotel analog connections are sometimes not so great, so a good modem will make life less frustrating. Remember there are several factors which stand between you and a good solid fast connection. Zoom and USR Megahertz both make excellent PC Card modems. In one test of PC Cards I reviewed recently, the Zoom PC Card modem gave the best overall results. 

Conclusion 

1. Ask your ISP what 56 kbps protocol they are supporting. 
2. Buy any name brand modem of your choice which has EPROM flash upgrade capability. 
3. Use it for higher speed downloads and good overall connections. 
4. Upgrade it when the final ITU standard (protocol) is available from your modem vendor.