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From: gsteckel@vergil.East.Sun.COM (Geoff Steckel - Sun BOS Hardware)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: Telebits "PEP" protocol
Summary: remember Vadic 1200?
Message-ID: <3592@jaytee.East.Sun.COM>
Date: 11 Dec 90 17:09:45 GMT
References: <1990Dec8.025415.2920@amd.com> <8sHZT4w163w@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us>
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Reply-To: gsteckel@east.sun.com (Geoff Steckel - Sun BOS Hardware)
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Organization: Omnivore Technology, Newton, Mass. (617)969-3448
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In article <8sHZT4w163w@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us> mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst) writes:
>ncpmont@brahms.amd.com (Mark Montgomery) writes:
>> mind is why isn't some modem manufacturer that already has a handle
>> on V.32, V.42, bis, etc putting PEP into their products?  Seems like
>> that would not only be a good marketing boost but also give some
>> competition to Telebit who seems to own the Unix connectivity market.
>
>Mostly because Telebit also owns the PEP protocol.  They invented it,
>and they can decided who gets to use it.

Does anybody remember Vadic (now Racal-Vadic) 1200 bps modems?
They were the first (and still technically superior to Bell 212)
full duplex 1200 bps modems.  Vadic refused to license any of the
protocols.  Bell announced 212, and after a couple of years, released
it for general use.  Result: Vadic was incompatible with all the other
1200 bps units, and that protocol died as a result.  It was a pity
at the time, since Bell picked 2 carrier frequencies which were
harmonically related and interfered with each other if line distortion
was high.

Open letter to Telebit:  if you think PEP is worth anything, licence
it (with or without fee).  Otherwise it will be bypassed by a (possibly
inferior) but widely available standard.  V.32 is coming up fast.

Anecdote:  until the patents run (ran?) out, Phillips N.V. collects a
very small (apocryphally $.05) royalty on all audio cassettes.  They also
refuse to allow any modification to cassette designs which will cause
incompatibility.  They will licence to anybody, anywhere, cheaply.
Result:  Phillips survives immense losses on practically
all its other products.  Cassettes are the largest selling recorded
music medium.
	geoff steckel (gwes@wjh12.harvard.EDU)
			(...!husc6!wjh12!omnivore!gws)
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Sun Microsystems, despite the From: line.
This posting is entirely the author's responsibility.