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By calling this new technology 56Kbps, the industry has once more set the user's expectation too high, reminiscent of V.34's claims of 28.8Kbps. Just as V.34 modems fail to connect at 28.8K over many phone lines, the new 56K technology modems may not provide 56K speeds even with one end fully digital. In fact, until such time that the FCC changes its regulation regarding the signal strength of digital transmission equipment, the top speed of this modem technology will probably not be 56Kbps. The truth is that no one knows what kind of performance can be expected. Currently there is no test equipment available to simulate 56K operation, so the only valid tests will be in real-life deployment As 56K modem technology modems roll out this year, and the various testing labs around the country start to work them over, the real performance of these products will become known.
The Regional Bell Operating Committee (RBOCs) have been silent about this technology. As we know, the infrastructure is already being burdened by the extra local traffic due to Internet calls, so a large increase of modem traffic due to 56K modem technology will certainly not help the situation....