The University Record, May 6, 1997
Modem upgrade means more speed
Thanks to upgrades of the modems that serve U-M dial-in users, you may now see an increase in connection speed when dialing in to the campus network.
Merit Network Inc., the operator of the MichNet network that provides dial-in connectivity to MichNet members throughout Michigan, has recently upgraded the Ann Arbor modem pools to support connect speeds of up to 33.6 Kbps (kilobits per second). If you have a 33.6 Kbps V.34 modem, you may now see faster connections than before.
Actual connect speeds depend on the quality of your phone line and distance from the nearest telephone switching equipment, so you may see a range of speeds from 26.4 to 33.6 Kbps. Users with 28.8 Kbps V.34 modems may also see some improvement in their connect speeds.
For users of V.34 modems manufactured in the last year, the V.34 standard employed in the new 33.6 Kbps modem upgrade offers the added advantage of supporting asymmetric rates over the phone line. This means that transmit and receive data transfer speeds can now be different. Previously, transfer rates for both would have been limited to the slower of the two rates—the lowest common denominator.
Merit is also in the process of upgrading modem pools throughout the rest of Michigan.
