The K56flex Modem Shelves are Here
by Monica Ray
Today, Tony has been a bit hard to catch. He's been installing the 56K dial-in "modem" shelves which arrived this morning. Don't worry - he doesn't have to install 144 separate modems - it's four banks which each contain 24.
Remember that this step is not complete until GTE installs its PRI (bundles of ISDN) lines in Moscow later this month. The maximum download speed is currently limited by the "robbed bit" channelized T-1 dial-in lines which we're using until the PRI lines are available.
But he couldn't resist testing them anyway. They're definitely working - he got 38K on his first try through some un-twisted, very long, switched phone lines. With a shorter line (still a bit noisy - the upload speed was only 31,200) he got 42K download. I'll put more here about his other tests, and reports from customers as they come in.
The new modem shelves seem to be slightly better even for slower modems. The statistics show several 33,600 connections now (all from people within one mile of GTE's Moscow Central Office), where with the previous shelves that was very rare. I'm anxious to see what happens when the upgrade is complete.
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