Down the Virtual Chimney . . .

During the last World War, the Germans developed the V.2; in dial-up parlance, we have now got as far as V.90, which is supposed to go like a rocket (at least for down-loading). Whether you can actually get any modem to blast off at 56Kbit/s on an ordinary telephone line seems to be a moot point, and anyway depends heavily on the precise qualities of the connection.

Last month we published an announcement about improvements in transatlantic Internet links - using Wave Division Multiplexing! (Somehow this does seem the obvious way of sending data across the sea.) This comes hard on the heels of both the introduction of charging Higher Education for incoming transatlantic data traffic and the arrival of free Internet connection services (barring good ol' local call telephone rates, of course).

So while the technologies converge on the New Millennium and the modem will-o'-the-wisp twinkles asymptotically towards 56K, the price-fixing juggernaut has suddenly thrown a wobbly.

Santa may yet bring us our Virtual Presents, but his speed of delivery and his charging strategy have yet to be finalised...

Merry Christmas!