Well then you have ONE choice - USR.
USR will not license X2 to other server vendors.
Lucent and Rockwell jointly support K56flex. K56flex is being supported
on the server side by Livingston, Ascend, Cisco, Multi-Tech, Microcomm,
Bay Networks, Racal, Hayes, 3Com, Digital, Gandalf, NetAccess, etc.
*Everyone EXCEPT USR.*
On the client side you have USR, Cardinal, and Practical Peripherials
supporting X2 (and the latter are both part of Hayes). And a horde
of vendors too long to try listing supporting K56flex.
Toshiba, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard are bundling K56flex with their
computers.
USR may be the single largest brand name - but they are a small minority
of the market. Lucent and Rockwell together cover around 70% of the
chipsets used in modems. Motorola makes up part of the rest - and they
are also K56flex. USR is 20% or so of the modem market.
On the server side, as I said, USR is a minority of *one*.
There is an enormous installed base for servers that are not USR, and are
upgradable to K56flex. Many, like Livingston, Cisco, and Ascend, are
offering *free* upgrades to K56flex.
USR had a couple of months lead - now they're about to get stomped as they
have alienated every other vendor with their policies, and locked themselves
into a niche.
There are already more ISPs signed up for K56flex than X2 - Livingston
is at the 600 mark.
USR is claiming 500 X2 ISPs now. Livingston alone has passed them - and
that does count the hundreds of ISPs who have Ascend gear, or Cisco gear,
or any of the others who will be upgrading.
Also note that there is overlap - there are ISPs supporting BOTH protocols.
If you were to add up all the ISPs planning on K56flex from the various
vendors, it is easily over 1000. Note that pominent providers, like AOL,
which USR heralded as X2 sites - are now introducing K56flex servers
alongside the X2 servers.
-MZ
-- Livingston Enterprises - Chair, Department of Interstitial Affairs Phone: 800-458-9966 510-737-2100 FAX: 510-737-2110 megazone@livingston.com For support requests: support@livingston.com <http://www.livingston.com/> Snail mail: 4464 Willow Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588