Re: Multi-Tech CommPlete vs. PM3?
Karl Denninger (karl@Mcs.Net)
Mon, 7 Apr 1997 14:13:18 -0500
On Mon, Apr 07, 1997 at 08:57:31AM -0700, Joe Sasek wrote:
> At 10:26 AM 4/7/97 -0500, Richard Yoo wrote:
> >At 05:13 PM 4/7/97 +0200, Christophe Prevotaux wrote:
> >>Yes the prices on portmaster 3 and Modem Cards is very expensive
> >>But why are you saying the upgrade is Free on Multitech hardware isn't it
> the
> >>same
> >>on Livingston Portmaster 3 ?
> >
> >No, Livingston nor Ascend have made any promises that the ITU-T 56k upgrade
> >will be free... They have only promised the Lucent/Rockwell versions...
> >Multi-Tech has promised that the Lucent/Rockwell AND the ITU-T 56k will be
> >free...
>
> If this is true it is absolutely irresponsible! Multitech will be using the
> exact same Lucent solution as Livingston. The software upgrade path will as
> a result be _identical_! It is Lucent's announced intention to provide the
> ultimate standard for free, but at this stage of the game (and with the ITU
> being the ultimate wildcard) it is _impossible_ for _anyone_ to "guarantee".
>
> You may be overlooking the most important detail of all here? How many
> ISP's use Multitech SW for communications server/routing functionality? To
> my knowledge _none_. Livingston has been dealing in the ISP arena for over
> 5 years now and (thanks to ISP's) produce a ComOS that reflects the feature
> richness and reliability that ISP's _demand_!
>
> Regards,
>
> Joe
Joe, that's more than a bit unfair.
Multitech is one of the leading modem vendors out there in the ISP
marketplace. Heck, some of our largest competitors used to run them before
going to T1-entrance hardware -- rigged to PM2s for terminal service.
Saying (or implying) that Multitech doesn't know this business is absolute
horsefeathers. They certainly do understand the ISP business.
As to whether their box actually works (and how well), I'll leave that to
someone who has tried one.
Promising the ITU upgrade for free isn't irresponsible -- if you intend to
keep the promise. Multitech can probably afford to eat the chipset if they
need to do so in order to comply with that, and they're likely gambling that
they won't need to do it anyway.
Its a tremendous marketing advantage to advertise this, providing you can
actually deliver it. Multitech is quite financially capable of doing so,
even if it means swapping every DSP they deliver.
--
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