PW> protocols such as HS/Link, Bimodem, etc. would be severely
 PW> disadvantaged (to the point of being useless) over HST?

 IS> Yep, that's about right.  Same with Janus and Hydra protocols too.

 PW> Oh...  Do you know if HST is still popular now, what with
 PW> V.34 being just a tad  faster than 16.8k...?

If you've got users and/or points who live 20 miles out the end of scungy
old lines (city folks may chuckle), you could do a lot worse than offering
them HST connects, we hear.

 PW> If so, can you guess what sort of percentage
 PW> of modem users connect with HST?  Are the olde USR
 PW> dual-standard modems still in popular use?

In Australia?  Browse your Z3 nodelist segment for HST flags (but not V34).
 There were still a dozen or two listed, last I noticed.

If you weren't thinking of going as far as a Courier, I expect you could
find an older HST/DS (HST 16.8k, earlier 14.4k, both plus V.32bis) for a
reasonable price [just guessing].

Doubt I'd ever buy an HST-only modem, however cheap, but that bloke up the
bush with old lead phonelines going past a dozen electric fences might :) 
May even work out a cheapish solution in some cases .. if you can find one.

Ian

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