A Publication of R.W. Green Enterprises         Jan 1999
Internet Edition
V.90 Modems
Are they all the same?
Featured Publication Depending on the chipset inside your modem, here's how to find out if it is a V.90 modem.
In Windows Terminal ensure that the correct modem COM port is selected then type the following commands to determine if V.90 is supported.
Lucent chipset: ATI3 (V.90 has firmware version 5 or later; ie v.5.xxx)
Rockwell chipset: AT+MS=? (V.90 has a 12, whereas Kflex has a 56 in a string of numbers)
x2 chipset: ATI7 (V.90 should be displayed as a listed standard) 		  While V.90 modems have been reported as having "a slight edge in throughput" and "more accurate [connection speed reporting]" when compared to a previous generation of modems based on 56K technology, this doesn't mean that all V.90 modems are identical in performance.   According to the same article quoted above (PC Week June 24/1998), Rockwell and Lucent (Kflex) chipsets were 10% better than 3Com (x2) when connected to Kflex-based servers.   Tests conducted by PC Magazine and published in the December 15, 1998 issue showed V.90 throughput under impaired line conditions, and 3Com US Robotics modems were notably good in these tests.   PC World's January 1999 edition points out that overall V.90 performance is affected by the fallback (v.34 speed) as well as high-speed transfer rate, and they chose IBM's V.90 modem as best.   Connection reliability, a separate criterion, was best for 3Com and Boca modems. Featured Publication