Local phone companies respond that they cannot keep up with the demand as families order separate lines for children, fax machines and modems.
There are fewer options for modems, which represent fully 20 percent of 3Com's revenue.
You don't really have to design for tiny monitors or modems any more.
Some of the more expensive models have additional, specific protection for modems.
But growing interest in on-line services have created new demand for modems.
Prices for slower modems are falling at the same rate.
A search for "modems" generated a list of more than a million Web pages.
Several modem manufacturers see a large new market for cellular modems.
In the early 1960s the highest speed for modems on telephone lines was 2400 bits per second.
It has made chip sets for modems for 20 years.