I quote Eric Danneels:
 SL> Zyxel doesn't do SHIT about his V34 capability...
ED> Yep, they do... They had an experimental 31200 connect with
ED> a USR. Not that this was done under lab conditions, not
ED> through a phonecentral. Anyway : whenever you connect 2 USR
ED> 33.6K through a public phone exchange the highest noted
ED> connect rate is... 28.8K  The 33.6k algorithm is too
ED> dependable on the line quality. 
That's just not correct. I have 2 USRs and have no problems connecting at 
33k6. I also have daily real-world connections at 33k6. Sometimes even 
international connections at 33k6 (sometimes at 31k2). Intercontinental 
connections are nearly always slower though.
One of the USRs is an I-Modem; like the ZyXEL ISDN thingie it offers no 
opportunity to the modem signal to degrade since there is no analog 
transmission path. In such a setup, V.34 at 33k6 can be expected to perform 
very well, even if the other modem is connected via an analog line.
 SL> they are concentrating on their ISDN capability (aargh)
ED> Why not... ISDN is the future !
That is certainly true, but the huge majority of GSTN(*) subscribers in the 
world still only has analog access. Any improvements in analog performance, 
small as they may be, proportionally benefit many more people than 
improvements on the digital side of things.
But ZyXEL obviously has a right to concentrate on where they think their 
market is. The customer will make up his mind.
Jan
(*): GSTN means generalized switched telephone network. It consists of the 
worldwide network of interconnected networks that provide circuit-switched 
telephone services. This includes the PSTNs, ISDNs and private telephone 
networks.
--- timEd-A10a
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