Last week NaviPath became the first ISP to announce its nationwide support of the new V.92 modem specification for sending data upstream at 48K bit/sec. This is an improvement on modems that support the V.90 specification, which generally max out at 33.6K bit/sec upstream.
Although the specification still supports downstream speeds of up to 56K bit/sec, like its cousin the V.90, it has a few additional features that remote workers should like.
The new specification also includes a "quick connect" feature. This allows users with V.92 modems to connect to the Internet in about 10 seconds. Users with V.90 modems usually connect to the Internet within 20 seconds.
The final feature that users would find beneficial is the hold feature. Modems that support this standard allow users to put their data connection on hold so they can answer a voice call over the same line. Users would have to subscribe to call waiting service to use this feature.
While users in homes and small offices often prefer broadband Internet access services there are still many areas in the U.S. where DSL, cable modem and fixed wireless are not available. According to Cahners In-Stat about 50 million users depend on dial-up services to connect to the Internet.
So how do you sign up? Users need to buy a new modem to support these features and from what I understand software upgrades to existing modems will not work here.
Modem manufacturers such as U.S. Robotics and Zoom Telephonics have rolled out modems that support this new technology. But in order to benefit from the features in your new V.92 modem your ISP also has to support the new standard.
Last week NaviPath became the first ISP to announce its nationwide support of the new specification, and it's expected other ISPs will soon follow suit. Until then, users will have to settle for 33.6K bit/sec upstream and 56K bit/sec downstream even if they're using a V.92 modem.
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Denise Pappalardo is a senior editor for Network World, covering ISPs, VPNs and related topics. Reach her at denisep@nww.com.
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