A 56K Modem Dialogue

So long as price and service stand in the way, the promise of blinding fast Internet access with hot-stuff technology is mostly a tease.

Analog modems will never achieve the speed of say, cable modems, but otherwise there's nothing illusory about them. They are generally reliable and quite affordable. Driven by market demand, they have also grown appreciably faster in recent years.

Moreover, they will continue to be the most common way of connecting to the Internet for at least the next five years, says Lisa Pelgrim, a senior analyst who follows modems for GartnerGroup's Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose, Calif.

Early last year, the newest class - the 56 kilobits-per-second modem - was introduced in two flavors: Rockwell/Lucent's K56flex and 3Com/U.S. Robotics' x2. Both technologies did the same thing to boost download speeds: They eliminated a digital-to-analog conversion.

Problem was, and is, that the respective protocols are incompatible. They don't "talk" to each other, which required consumers and Internet service providers to choose sides if they wanted faster analog modem speeds.

A consumer with an x2-based modem, for example, must make sure his Internet provider supports that protocol to achieve 56K speeds.

Understandably, even though both 3Com and Rockwell/Lucent promised free upgrades to whatever standard was ultimately adopted, many consumers stood on the sidelines waiting for consensus.

That happened earlier this year, when the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency that coordinates global communications standards, announced agreement. The new, V.90 modem harmonizes the competing codes.

Analysts expect the new standard to boost modem sales significantly. When it announced V.90, the ITU noted that VisionQuest 2000, a market researcher, estimates the number of modems shipped each year likely will rise to 75 million by the year 2000 from 50 million in 1997.

Officially, the new standard is merely a "recommendation" until September, when final approval is expected. As a practical matter, no one expects the technical specifications to shift in the interim.90 units.

Likewise, modem manufacturers are - or soon will be - uploading V.90 code to their Web sites for free download by owners of existing K56flex and x2 modems.

In keeping with the "more for less" theme that seems to permeate the computer industry, new V.90 modems are expected to cost as little as $100 for some internal models - about a 20 per cent drop from the early 56K units. Look for even better deals on "old stock" inventory of x2 and K56flex modems with no-cost upgrades to the V.90 standard. ------------------------------- QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q: What is V.90?

A: It's the new analog modem standard, rated at 56 kilobits per second. It is expected to be widely used for Internet access. Manufacturers are moving to the new standard, which reportedly does a slightly better job of sustaining download speeds than x2 or K56flex.

Q: Will I be able to connect at 56K speeds with V.90?

A: Like x2 and K56flex, V.90 requires an all-digital connection between the provider and the phone company, and only one digital-to-analog conversion along the way.

Speed is affected by the phone-line quality and distance between the household and the telephone company's central office. Also, despite the "56K" designation, actual download speeds tend to be in the mid or upper 40s - still a significant improvement over the old standard, V.34 (28.8K maximum) and V.34+ (33.6K maximum).

As with x2 and K56flex, V.90 leaves unchanged the maximum upstream speed, or the rate by which data travels from the user's computer to a server at the other end. The speed can reach a theoretical 33.6K, though practically speaking it tops out at 31.2K. This is no big deal so long as the data sent upstream consist mainly of keystrokes and mouse clicks.

Q: Should I upgrade to V.90?

A: Generally speaking, if your provider hasn't upgraded yet, don't bother. Buyers of new computers will start seeing V.90 modems built in. Those modems will incorporate one of the predecessor protocols, depending on the manufacturer.

For example, a 3Com/U.S. Robotics V.90 modem will also support x2, and will negotiate 56K speeds when connected to an x2-based Internet access provider that has not yet upgraded to V.90. But it will not achieve 56K speeds connected to a K56flex-based provider that has not yet upgraded to V.90.

Because of 3Com's "simultaneous backward compatibility," there's virtually no risk in upgrading to V.90, which includes the latest x2 code, before your provider does. The only group at risk would be the relatively small number of x2 consumers who access the Internet through providers using very old x2 code. Those consumers would drop back to V.34 speeds. A 3Com spokesman could not say how many people are in that boat, but maintained the number is small; anyone encountering that scenario should call 3Com customer support for help.

(Let me report here that I own an external U.S. Robotics Courier and have an account with AT&T WorldNet, which has supported x2-based modems, but has not upgraded to V.90. Last month, I took advantage of 3Com's free upgrade from x2 to V.90, and have continued to connect at 56K speeds.)

If you own a Rockwell-based K56flex modem, it's probably a wise decision not to upgrade to V.90 until your provider does.

David Blazon, product-line manager for Hayes/Accura, notes that some Rockwell-based K56flex modems (which generally cost less than 3Com/U.S. Robotics modems) carry insufficient memory to run in both V.90 and K56flex modes. As a result, owners of such memory-challenged modems who download V.90 code before their providers adopt the new standard will drop down to V.34 speeds. If that occurs, owners could "flash" back to K56flex code to resume faster speeds. (See answer to next question for explanation of "flashing").

On the other hand, Blazon notes, Lucent-based K56flex modems behave like x2 modems, meaning they are capable of running in dual mode (both V.90 and K56flex).

Q: When will Internet service providers upgrade to V.90?

A: This depends partly on when the code is made available to them. 3Com/U.S. Robotics was first out of the gate with V.90 code, just as they beat Rockwell/Lucent to the punch with x2 last year. A handful of 3Com-based providers supporting V.90 already have sprung up in the Puget Sound area (see Q&A below for their reports).

Ralph Sims, vice president in charge of research and development at Bellevue-based Northwest Nexus and a board member of the Washington Association of Internet Service Providers, predicts that while some providers will "jump on this right away," others will shy away from adopting V.90 until they are confident the code is mature.

In general, he noted that providers with Rockwell/Lucent-based equipment (about 65 per cent nationally) will be slower to adopt the V.90 standard because Rockwell/Lucent must support a much wider variety of modem manufacturers. He also predicted that experienced computer users may bide their time because "knowledgeable users are tired of Mickey Mousing around with things that almost work."

Representatives of both Rockwell and 3Com say they plan to add Web links listing providers across the country that are adopting the V.90 standard. See http://www.rss.rockwell.com/v90/index.html and http://x2.usr.com/56k/.

Q: How do I upgrade to V.90 if I have an x2 or K56flex modem?

A: For the vast majority of 56K modem owners, this should be relatively simple, because most 56K modems are "flashable," meaning the units can be upgraded by downloading software to "flash" the code stored in the modem memory. (The box the modem came in should say if the unit is software upgradeable.)

Go to the modem maker's Web site and find the link to V.90 code. If it's not there now, it will be in coming weeks. In the case of 3Com/U.S. Robotics, the drill is to download a modem "wizard," then close your Internet connection. Next, launch the wizard, which dials a number in Illinois to download the V.90 code. The wizard will then update your modem. The entire process takes about 5 minutes.

For a relative handful (less than 1 percent, or 100,000) of K56flex modem owners, the upgrade will be more complicated. Though still free, it cannot be done via software and will require a hardware swap. Best to check with the vendor if you're in doubt. In the case of some manufacturers (including 3Com/US Robotics and Global Village) all 56k modems are software upgradeable.

Q: Have there been any catastrophes from downloading V.90 code?

A: The only reported bug so far involved V.90 code that 3Com posted to its Web site this month to upgrade Megahertz Laptop modems. BugNet, an online newsletter that tracks software and hardware glitches, reported that while the download has worked flawlessly for many, others have found that the upgrade simply won't install, or that it appeared to install correctly, "but then they discover that their modem has been fried."

3Com took down the code after the report, and was investigating to determine the cause. The problem occurred in less than one half of 1 percent of recorded downloads, according to Thea Hayden, 3Com spokeswoman, who added that 3Com modem cards carry a lifetime warranty. Further, she suggested the problem might have less to do with the V.90 code than with the flash-upgrade process occurring when laptops are in power-down mode.

Q: I own a 28.8K modem and never upgraded to a 56K modem. Can I upgrade to V.90 without buying a new modem?

A: If your modem was capable of being upgraded to x2 or K56flex, then you should be able to leap-frog past those "interim" protocols straight to the new V.90 code. This will spare you the cost of a new modem, but it will run you about $60 for the V.90 code.

Q: So what's the advantage of V.90?

A: One big advantage is doing away with consumer confusion, and moving toward what the industry calls "interoperability," so that every one is "talking" the same language.

Performance-wise, some V.90 enthusiasts say it does a better job than either x2 or K56flex at seeking out and compensating for "digital impairments" at the network level to achieve the highest, sustained speeds possible.

3Com spokesman Craig Grabiner says the company's testing shows a 7 to 10 percent boost over x2 in "throughput," or the rate at which Web pages download.

Q: What has been the real-world experience of people using V.90 code?

A: Among the first to experience V.90 in the Puget Sound are customers of three 3Com/U.S. Robotics-based providers: CityLinq of Bellevue; EmeraldNet of Seattle, and NWiNET of Silverdale.

CityLinq system administrator Shawn Terbaville says that his customers are reporting that their initial connection rates are the same or a notch lower than when they were using x2, yet the connection appears to give them better performance in their online game playing and file transfers.

"We even have a few that claim their connect rates are higher, and some that claim that their ending connect rate is higher (these people know how to send the proper commands to the modem to see this figure)," he said.

EmeraldNet owner Patrick Apodaca's assessment: "All in all, a pretty good experience." Compared with x2, Apodaca says, V.90 "seems a little more accurate" as far as reporting the true connect speed, though "actual throughput" - the rate at which pages download - is about the same.

(Apodaca set me up with a test account to try my V.90-enabled modem; the initial connect speed reported slightly lower than with x2, but overall performance seemed indistinguishable.)

NWiNET system administrator Terry Kennedy says he too is unaware of any significant performance difference between x2 code and V.90 code. More important, he noted, is that "no one is having problems . . . Performance is secondary to problems . . . We didn't even tout it for the first couple of days, because people tend to blame problems on change . . . We just snuck it it."

The real bonus, he maintains, is "for the industry and for the consumer" by doing away with incompatibility issues.

Q: Will the V.90 standard get better?

A: Probably. As with any code, refinements will be implemented based on experience. Because of the limitations of analog modems and telephone lines, it's doubtful that download speeds will improve much. But down the road, engineers believe they can improve the "upstream" flow, meaning the rate at which users will be able to send information across the Internet. That capability would matter, for example, when sending large e-mail attachments.