Surfing Silicon Valley: 56K -- Not!

By San Francisco Bureau Chief Greg Lefevre

April 9, 1998
Web posted at: 2:20 PM EDT (1420 GMT)

(CNN) -- Are you reading this at 56k? Even though there's a modem marked 56k nestled inside your computer or hanging off the back of your desk, you're probably not getting the getting the baud rate that you expect. There's nothing wrong with your PC or Mac or even with your modem, the problem is that most of America's phone lines haven't caught up with the technology used by 3Com/US Robotics, Hayes or the folks at Global Village.

Way back when modern modem standards were set, your modem was instructed to run at its fastest available speed. If the line quality was not up to par, the modem would slow down to the next slower speed, then the next, until it received enough error-free information.

That worked fine up to 28,800 bits per second. Then the dueling 56k standards were devised. First off, the 56k happens in one direction only -- albeit the important one, inbound to your computer. And it's usually 52k anyway.

Problem 1

The modem designers counted on something that's not happened: higher quality phone lines. Zooming along at 56,000 bits per second requires very clean connections. It also requires a minimum of switching by the phone company between your computer and your Internet service provider. In layman's terms, if your phone call/dialup goes through more than one analog to digital conversion between your modem and the ISP, the 56k signal will likely drop off and your modem speed drops down. You'll wind up at 34k or more likely 28k.

The new 90v standard is supposed to bridge the two 56k standards and meet the challenge of standard phone lines. Meanwhile the telephone companies are splitting up area codes faster than Hollywood marriages, trying to get all of that second or third phone-line business for home computer connections.

Problem 2

Divvying up the area codes gives us more numbers but does not necessarily change the way the signals are moved around.

Solutions

Some folks are coming up with interim answers. Intel is touting a compression service that sends you tightly compressed graphics. That way when you call up a graphics-laden page, it loads faster because there are fewer bits in it.

Also, Connectix Surf Express, mentioned in an earlier column, stores your favorite graphic elements so that the next time you go to a familiar page, it will load any repeat graphics or pictures from your hard drive, not consuming time reloading them from the Web. All of this is intended to make the process faster.

If you're lucky enough to have a high-speed line like a T-1 or a cable modem or even satellite service like DirectPC, all of this is moot. Invite us all over so we can witness what the Web SHOULD be like!

Surf on ...

Related stories:

• Surfing Silicon Valley: Sun-ny Days?
• Surfing Silicon Valley: SurfExpress

Related sites:

• Intel Quick Web Technology
• Global Village Communication
• 3Com/US Robotics Desktop Modems
• Connectix SurfExpress

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive

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