Newly proposed fast speed modem to improve Internet Access


Geneva - The ITU announced today that the recently created Expert Group to
prepare an ITU-T Recommendation for pcm-modems, also referred to as 56kbit/s
modems, has just completed its first meeting and is on target for completing
the technical work by September 1997.

"There is a strong commitment in this ITU-T Group to respond to the market
needs" said Mr John Magill, Vice-Chairman of Study Group 16, the group
responsible at the ITU for Multimedia services and systems. "The timescale
for agreeing the details is short, but everyone involved recognizes the
importance of an early ITU-T Recommendation" he added.

The need for rapid development of global standards which facilitate the
interconnection of different systems is becoming increasingly important as
computers proliferate and more and more information is processed and
distributed via electronic means.

The new pcm-modems are designed for PSTN connections which are digitally
presented at one end, and have only one analogue/digital conversion. This
type of connection is common when accessing Internet Service Providers
(ISPs), and for some on-line services and corporate networks.

The modems benefit from the digital connection at the network end by
exploiting the characteristics of the pcm systems within the network rather
than suffering from their impairments, and as a result can provide data
rates in the direction from the network significantly higher than the
33.6kbit/s available today.

This work follows the adoption last year of the amended V.34 standard that
gave the go-ahead for equipment manufacturers to start to deliver new
products based on this high performance data technology. Increased modem
transmission speed cuts down the time needed by computers to transfer
information, resulting in lower telephone bills. The new proposed modem
could also dramatically improve Internet access.

"Using this new technology for Internet access, times for downloading files
and web pages may be reduced by up to 40%." said Mr Les Brown, Rapporteur
for the work within Study Group 16. "This could represent a boon for users
and foster continued Internet growth."

"The potential market value for faster modems designed for on-line srvices
such as the pcm-modem is enormous, and will be maximised with a global
standard: the demand is there and needs to be satisfied" Brown concluded.

The Expert Group, or Rapporteur group as it is known within the ITU-T, was
created at the first meeting of the new ITU-T Study Group 16 in March this
year. The mandate of the Rapporteur Group is to make rapid progress on an
ITU-T Recommendation for this new pcm-modem technology. The Group is
receiving significant input from the USA TIA TR30 committee which had
already started work on a US Interim Standard for a pcm-modem. A very tight
schedule has been set for the work to satisfy market needs and encourage the
growth of this new market with an ITU-T Recommendation, building on the
success of now well established V.34 modems.

Over forty experts from six countries, including representatives from the
major modem and modem technology suppliers, met last week in San Diego, USA.
A number of significant agreements are already in place and a schedule of
meetings and key decision points has been mapped out for the next four
months. It is planned to have the draft Recommendation technically complete
by early September such that the ITU-T approval process can begin at that
time. This will lead to a fully approved Recommendation in January 1998.

Study Group 16 was established by the World Telecommunications
Standardization Conference in October 1996, consolidating activities
previously dealt by a number of Study Groups to bring about faster results.
In addition to the work on pcm-modems, Study Group 16 is responsible for
other key multimedia technologies including Recommendations for multimedia
terminals, multimedia conferencing, and speech, audio, and video coding.
Study Group 16 also co-ordinates the multimedia studies for all of the
ITU-T.

For further information, please contact:

Les Brown
Rapporteur for PCM-Modems
Motorola
Tel: +1 905 507 7361/+1 905 601 7755
(mobile)
Fax:+1 905 507 7230
Email: LLB005@email.mot.com

John Magill
Vice Chairman ITU-T SG16
Lucent Technologies
Tel: +44 1666 510105
Fax: +44 1666 510106
Email: hjm@probecom.demon.co.uk


*********************************************
Gerhard LIST, ARSENAL / ETI / SV, Austria   
Tel: + 43 1 79747 288 / Fax: + 43 1 79747 593
*********************************************