USRobotics
VoIP | |
Owner | UNICOM Global |
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Website | www |
U.S. Robotics Corporation, often called USR, is a
With the reduced usage of
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2008) |
USR was founded in 1976 in
In its early years (circa 1980), USR was a reseller of computers, terminals and modems.
USR sold its first modem, the Courier, to corporate customers starting in 1979. In 1984, the breakup of AT&T greatly lowered the cost of the testing needed for connection to the telephone network, which led to lower prices and wider use of modems. They began offering the Courier to the public in 1984.[6]
In 1986, USR introduced their Courier HST, short for "high speed transfer". Using
USR was not the only company making modems with proprietary protocols; Telebit's TrailBlazer series of 1985 offered speeds up to 19.2 kbit/s, and Hayes also introduced the 9600 bit/s Express 96 (or "Ping-Pong") system. However, USR became the most successful of the three, due to a marketing scheme that offered large discounts to BBS sysops. It was a favourite in this market not only for its performance, but its superb stability, with sysops suggesting new sysops "Just get the Courier, you will NOT be disappointed, it is excellent."[6]
The proprietary nature of HST allowed USR to maintain its market predominance even when off-brand V.32-based modems began selling for less than equivalent HST modems. As the price differential decreased, however, V.32-based modems eventually became a cost-effective alternative to HST. USR countered by creating ever-faster HST protocols, starting with a 16.8 kbit/s mode, and by producing "dual-standard" modems that were able to communicate with both HST and V.32 modems at high speeds. In spite of many modems with similar performance on the market at even lower price points, the Courier's retained their legendary reputation for quality and reliability, "Once you have used a Courier, nothing else is a modem in your book at any price. They are the very best there is."[6]
To compete with the ever growing market for low cost consumer models, USR introduced their Sportster line. These supported only V.32 and later standards, they retained their own higher-speed HST standard only for the Couriers. During this time, Couriers were available in V.32, HST, or the more popular Courier Dual Standard models which supported both. The Sportster used the same motherboard as the Couriers, and on certain 14.4 kbit/s models a sequence of AT commands could be issued to enable the faster 16.8 kbit/s HST mode.[7] The Courier modems remained a favorite in the BBS and emerging Internet service provider world, where they were known to run without problems for extended periods of time (although the initial large-scale deployment of Courier modems in the CompuServe network uncovered a serious bug, which would cause the modems to crash and stop answering calls under high call volumes).
A similar situation emerged a few years later when the 56 kbit/s
Some models of Courier modems were known for their long-term upgradeability, because they used an upgradeable
There was a licensing key needed for some Courier V.Everything V.90 flash upgrades. The firmware could be loaded onto the modem, but it would work in "degraded" V.34 mode. After paying a fee, and having the modem dial USR, a license key was installed that enabled the V.90 functions.
Commoditization
USR acquired
USR was acquired by private equity firm Platinum Equity for an undisclosed amount of cash in 2005, believed to be between US$30 million and US$50 million.[11]
By 2010 the company was focused only on the traditional modem business.
In 2013, USR was acquired by UNICOM Global.[12]
See also
- IBM Mwave – Combined modem and sound digital signal processor(DSP) card allowing soft upgrades within its hardware limitations.
References
- ^ "USR :: Backgrounder". www.usr.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ "About USR". USR. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ Hachman, Mark (2004-06-30). "Update: Management Team Buys Back U.S. Robotics - ExtremeTech". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ^ "Computers-Terminals-Modems!". Byte Magazine (November 1980).
- ^ Frank J. Derfler Jr., "Selecting the right modem", PC Magazine, pp. 224-233, January 1983.
- ^ a b c d e Baguley, Richard (5 September 2013). "The Gadget We Miss: The US Robotics Courier Modem". Medium.
- ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ "Info World: USRobotics Courier V.34 Ready Fax Modem with V.FC and V.32bis". books.google.com. 11 July 1994. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ "PC Magazine: The First V.34 Modems". books.google.com. 13 Sep 1994. Retrieved 16 Nov 2017.
- ^ "Investors bless 3Com-USR merger". Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ "Buyout Firm Scoops Up Modem Maker U.S. Robotics". Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ "UNICOM Systems acquires U.S. Robotics from Platinum Equity". support.usr.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
External links
- Official website of U.S. Robotics Corporation
- Corporate press kit that discusses origin of company name (pdf)
- Business data for U.S. Robotics Corporation: