Motorola to unveil software modem

Sources in the US claim Motorola's Information Systems Group (ISG) will this week unveil a modem which functions mostly through software running off a PC's main processor, with only a small hardware component.

The product is expected to be demonstrated at the Comdex show in Las Vegas and Motorola plans to ship it to OEMs in the new year. Sources said the vendor will not sell the modem itself to users, as it has very specialised system requirements.

Inside sources claim to have information on the modem. The CPU handles the signal processing, as the modem has a minimal hardware interface, and the first incarnation will run at 28.8Kbps. In the first quarter of next year Motorola will add a free upgrade to 33.6Kbps, plus support for video conferencing over analogue lines and for the MMX extension to the Pentium.

In Q2 it will add support for Windows NT and the V.70 digital simultaneous voice and data standard. The software will also run at 56Kbps if it this standardised.