Ray Van Eng (10/12/96)
Alcatel Telecom, a French company claimed that they have a modem that can be used to browse the Internet via a regular telephone line at speeds up to 4 Mbps (megabits per second) or about 100 times faster than a 28.8 kbps modem commonly used today. The device, about the same size as a CD-ROM player, relies on a combination of two high speed data communication technologies: Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line, ADSL, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode, ATM. Both schemes were used to split a regular telephone line into two channels with one providing access for an Internet or online connection while the other serves as a voice telephone line. At the telephone company end, a file cabinet size switching box is required to handle the service which could be offered to the consumer for as low as only $50 a month including the phone line charges. Alcatel says that a number of regional phone companies are very enthusiastic about the capabilities of these "super modems". Commercial tests with consumers could start in mid-1997.
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