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NOC: We monitor the Network; servers, modems, WAN [wide-area network] connections, all the time. If we did our job perfectly, you'd never know we were here. However, things do break unexpectedly, and then we perform damage control as best we can; we remove bad circuits from service when we can, and then get the problem fixed properly after it's made inconspicuous.

The end result is that we minimize the [network] problems that people inevitably encounter.

TN: There is a lot of talk about new x2 modems that are supposed to be able to achieve transfer speeds of 56 kbps. When will we be able to use these modems with MindSpring? How will they work?

NOC: [Note: This answer pertains only to MindSpring POPs. Please see the next page for a similar answer pertaining to PSI POPs.] US Robotics tells us that x2 will be ready for market in mid-January. That time frame still looks extremely ambitious to us. Once we get the final version of the code and test it to make sure there aren't any major issues with it, we will install it on all of MindSpring's dial-in sites. Hopefully, they'll be everything promised. But the reality is that the limiting factor is, as always, the quality of the customer's phone line. Some improvement is expected, but I'd guess that few people will actually see 56k.

On the customer side, the upgrade will be free for owners of USR Courier v.Everything modems as well as free for owners of USR Flash upgradeable Sportsters. Most recent EPROM based Sportsters can also be upgraded to x2 for a minimal shipping and handling fee. See http://www.usr.com for details.

The new technology works by taking advantage of the fact that most of the telephone network now-a-days is digital with the only analog portion being the customer's local loop. x2 is completely different than v.34. An x2 modem on the service provider's end talks digitally to the analog-to-digital converter on the customer's line. Since commands are being sent directly to the converter instead of the modem on the other end, it creates a much clearer signal. The speed of the modem back in our direction is, of course, still v.34.

TechNotes+ is a publication of MindSpring Enterprises, Inc.'s Electronic Services, and is provided as a service to MindSpring customers. Copyright © 1997 MindSpring Enterprises, Inc.