Additional Questions / Commentary

Additional Questions for US Robotics

It is apparent that a certain amount of confusion is present at the new, independent U.S. Robotics - for some time, information on the USR website regarding V.92 and V.92 upgrades has been incorrect or incomplete. USR's 56k line test has been out of service for over a month.

Some people have actually purchased the USR Performance Pro modem (5610A) with the understanding that it would have a V.92 upgrade as it appeared in USR's list of modems with V.92 upgrades. Now, these people - I heard from one - learn otherwise.

Notice my question regarding Call Notification Software. USR apparently claims its V.92 modems will display caller ID information without having caller ID service on the phone line. (Without using other extra-cost features on your line like call-forwarding-busy and a 3rd-party service, it is not possible to do this!)

Much of my 22-Mar-01 USR interview centered around what modems would and would not be upgradable, and how the USR website indicated something different from what the answers were. I had not been given a pre-defined length for the interview, but before I could ask a number of my questions, time was called, and I was told to submit additional questions to Maples Communications via e-mail:

Is is correct that USR's V.92 modems and upgrades do not implement V.44 compression? Does USR plan to support V.44 on any current products?

The USR Press Release of 27-Feb-01 (USR ships V.92) says: "All U.S. Robotics V.92 modems will ship with U.S. Robotics' Internet Call Notification software. This software informs users when a call has come in while they are on-line. The software will display the incoming number and does not require the user to have Caller ID. "

How is it possible for USR Call Notification software to display incoming number if customer does not have CallerID service? Is this "Call Notification" the same as, part of, or something altogether different from the "Control Center"?

What are the new AT commands that control PCM upstream? In the current product, do these commands appear in the modem's on-line help displays? ( AT$ screens )

Rob indicated that testing has been done in the real world with V.92 PCM upstream; however, the info provided to me about rates and Control Center's operation is not consistent with what are technical requirements for V.92 upstream:

Based upon the USR site on 8-Mar, I wrote that your V.92 implementation "...includes software to support call-waiting and modem-on-hold, and allows the user to optimize the connection for upstream, downstream or to balance the two." and questions I asked Rob were based upon that understanding (i.e., 3 options); however, as I look at your website now at http://www.usr.com/v92/, it appears there are only 2 choices - "...and lets you choose either the fastest downstream speed (up to 53 Kbps) or a "balanced" connection of downstream and upstream communication."

Specifically, Rob indicated that with optimization set for upstream, that the downstream rate will fall down to 30k/V.34 rates; however, it is not technically possible for a call to have PCM upstream without PCM downstream. It also appears that vendors of server-side modems plan to implement V.92 in stages with the first releases not supporting PCM upstream - which adds to my doubt as to the accuracy of the response to my question regarding whether V.92 PCM upstream was tested, and what results were obtained. Could you please check double-check the response to this? (Also see: https://modemsite.com/56k/v92s.htm - 10-Nov-00: Lucent indicates no PCM upstream testing; I have been told by a source I consider reliable that there is no tuning of PCM up vs. downstream - if PCM upstream is on, there is no way to limit upstream rate to favor downstream or vice-versa.)

Your website description/info for Control Center implies it does more than set optimization and allow for modem-on-hold: automatic modem update checking and a 3rd-party computer tuning product (Attune). If a user installs Control Center, will any information about the user or his on-line activity be exchanged with USR, Aveo/Attune or another 3rd party, and if so, is there disclosure? Is the installation of Attune optional? Is the modem-up-to-date feature of Control Center separate from Attune?