INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS UNION FINALLY AGREES V.34 SPEC

The V.34 high-speed modem standard has overcome its final major hurdle prior to ratification: Study Group 14 (which covers modems and transmission techniques for data, telegraph and telematic services) got the necessary unanimous vote for the standard to go to a wider International Telecommunications Union ballot, and, provided there are no further hitches, the standard should be ratified within 16 weeks. However, Cray Communications Ltd - which has criticised competitors for launching V.34-compliant modems in anticipation of the standard's ratification - has now done so itself, by announcing its new V.34 Quattro System Modem shortly after the Study Group 14 meeting broke up. John Macgill, Cray's engineering manager for transmission products, defends the company's position by saying that the chances of V.34 not being ratified are virtually non-existent. He points out that the problems with agreeing the standard have all been centred on Study Group 14 for two reasons: because it contains all of the most interested parties, and because a unanimous vote is required to gain approval, and adds that a majority vote is all that it needed for the wider Telecommunications Union ballot which is now to take place. The new Cray modem is said to provide full V.34 32Kbps operation, with separate leased and dial-up line interfaces. Also incorporating the company's password and dial-back features, the product comes in stand-alone and rack-mount versions, and is said to be compatible with its DomainView network management system. The product is ?1,000. The high-speed modem standardisation battle does not end there, however. The Telecommunications Union is now considering enhancements to the V.34 standard, which will enable the modems to step down to lower speeds during the course of a call, if line quality deteriorates. As now defined, V.34 analyses line quality at the start of the call, but does not drop speed if interference occurs during its progress.

Higher speed

Additionally, the International Telecommunications Union says that if there is an enhanced standard, it will probably incorporate a higher speed, but this has yet to be discussed. If Cray Communications slightly jumped the gun with its V.34 modem, that is nothing compared with a claim made by Zurich, Switzerland-based Telekink AG. The company has said that with its new V.34 IMS12 series it guarantees upgradability to the embryonic enhanced version of V.34. Indeed, it has even given a name to the standard - V.34bis - and put a figure to the higher speed the Telecommunications Union will adopt, 32Kbps: none of this has yet even been discussed, the Union confirms.

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