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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."
209:
34:
363:
455:
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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
194:
soon after. 3Com spun off USR again in 2000, keeping Palm and returning USR to the now much smaller modem market. After 2004 the company is formally known as USR. USR is now a division of UNICOM Global, and is one of the few providers left in the modem market today. The division employs about 125
415:. In contrast to the success of HST, neither X2 nor K56flex saw any real market uptake, as it was clear they would soon be followed by V.90 modems. After the introduction of V.90, USR abandoned support for X2. In a further effort to reduce the retail price of its modems, USR also marketed a
341:, HST provided 9,600 bit/s speeds, leapfrogging the standards efforts and offering four times the performance for about twice the price of a 2400 bit/s model. In 1989 HST was expanded to 14.4 kbit/s, 16.8 kbit/s in 1992, and finally to 21 kbit/s and 24 kbit/s.
445:
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.
470:
in June 1997. It was then recreated as a spin-off of 3Com in June 2000, assuming 3Com's entire client modem business except for the Palm-related portion, which itself had been spun off with Palm three months earlier. Other portions of the original USR remained part of 3Com as the
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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. The Courier modems remained a favorite in the BBS and emerging
442:, which added 56K speed capability. Finally, USR released a V.90 upgrade that was compatible with X2-upgraded Courier V.Everything modems. Even the 1994 hardware released pre-V.34 was fully V.90-upgradeable without hardware modification.
378:
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
298:
In its early years (circa 1980), USR was a reseller of computers, terminals and modems. At the time, commonly available modems ran at 300 bit/s, but 1200 bit/s using the mutually incompatible
359:. 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."
330:
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.
289:. The company has stated it was named as an homage to Asimov because in his science fiction works U.S. Robots eventually became "the greatest company in the known galaxy", and USR appeared in
352:
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
304:
886:
426:
design. For example, when the
Courier V.Everything modem was first released in 1994 under the product label "Courier V.34 Ready"., it shipped with only
388:
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
901:
881:
871:
475:. USR then quickly built up its device portfolio, including not only traditional dial-up modems, but also wired- and wireless-networking components.
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274:
891:
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line. The company had a reputation for high quality and support for the latest communications standards as they emerged, notably in its
906:
438:, as well as the Internet. USR then surprised many early Courier V.Everything modem owners with a limited-time free offer of an X2
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307:
standards were available at much higher price points. Even in 1983, 300 bit/s remained the most common speed. In 1984, the
911:
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866:
727:
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network uncovered a serious bug, which would cause the modems to crash and stop answering calls under high call volumes).
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701:
248:
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modems in North
America in the early 21st century, USR began branching out into new markets. The company purchased
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282:
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20:
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Some models of
Courier modems were known for their long-term upgradeability, because they used an upgradeable
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395:
349:
226:
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transfers much faster, and thus less costly. During the 1990s it became a major consumer brand with its
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for an undisclosed amount of cash in 2005, believed to be between US$ 30 million and US$ 50 million.
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who designed modems into the mid-1980s. The company name is a reference to the fictional company
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472:
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153:
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To compete with the ever growing market for low cost consumer models, USR introduced their
82:
521:
8:
97:
44:
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that used software running on the host computer to perform some of the modem functions.
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54:
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270:
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had not been released. A free V.34 firmware upgrade was made available later via
311:
standard provided 2400 bit/s service, but these remained high-cost devices.
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838:
538:
479:
407:
standard was first being proposed. USR developed its own 56k standard known as
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855:
843:
493:
113:
702:"Info World: USRobotics Courier V.34 Ready Fax Modem with V.FC and V.32bis"
408:
286:
278:
348:'s TrailBlazer series of 1985 offered speeds up to 19.2 kbit/s, and
318:
USRobotics Courier 2400 Modem with serial cable attached (mid-late 1980s)
489:
By 2010 the company was focused only on the traditional modem business.
463:
431:
404:
389:
344:
USR was not the only company making modems with proprietary protocols;
233: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
184:
180:
403:
A similar situation emerged a few years later when the 56 kbit/s
505:
300:
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326:, to corporate customers starting in 1979. In 1984, the breakup of
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512:(DSP) card allowing soft upgrades within its hardware limitations.
33:
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262:
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830:
Corporate press kit that discusses origin of company name (pdf)
590:"Update: Management Team Buys Back U.S. Robotics - ExtremeTech"
356:
149:
93:
796:"UNICOM Systems acquires U.S. Robotics from Platinum Equity"
563:
427:
411:, while a consortium of other companies introduced its own
277:, who served as CEO for most of the company's history, and
191:
101:
399:
USR Sportster 56k 117102 ISA modem supporting X2 and V.90
152:
and related products. Its initial marketing was aimed at
823:
124:
659:"The Gadget We Miss: The US Robotics Courier Modem"
775:"Buyout Firm Scoops Up Modem Maker U.S. Robotics"
853:
581:
366:U.S. Robotics Sportster 14,400 Fax Modem (1994)
834:Business data for U.S. Robotics Corporation:
458:U.S. Robotics 22Mbps Wireless PC Card (2002)
285:which featured prominently in the works of
887:Privately held companies based in Illinois
525:Courier Dual Standard V34 Fax with V32 bis
273:), by a group of entrepreneurs, including
32:
902:Networking companies of the United States
882:Electronics companies established in 1976
337:, short for "high speed transfer". Using
249:Learn how and when to remove this message
872:Companies based in Cook County, Illinois
520:
453:
394:
361:
313:
295:(2004) as the fictional company itself.
862:Computer companies of the United States
656:
587:
854:
652:
650:
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646:
644:
657:Baguley, Richard (5 September 2013).
466:in 1995 and subsequently merged with
892:Telecommunications equipment vendors
728:"PC Magazine: The First V.34 Modems"
231:adding citations to reliable sources
202:
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13:
897:Private equity portfolio companies
449:
14:
923:
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754:"Investors bless 3Com-USR merger"
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907:1976 establishments in Illinois
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218:needs additional citations for
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694:
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333:In 1986, USR introduced their
322:USR sold its first modem, the
283:U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men
190:, but was itself purchased by
21:U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men
1:
912:2013 mergers and acquisitions
614:"Computers-Terminals-Modems!"
516:
492:In 2013, USR was acquired by
144:, is a company that produces
98:Wired and Wireless Networking
826:of U.S. Robotics Corporation
638:, pp. 224-233, January 1983.
588:Hachman, Mark (2004-06-30).
7:
867:Computer hardware companies
632:"Selecting the right modem"
508:– Combined modem and sound
499:
261:USR was founded in 1976 in
66:; 48 years ago
10:
928:
539:"USR :: Backgrounder"
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175:With the reduced usage of
18:
386:Internet service provider
138:U.S. Robotics Corporation
119:
107:
89:
78:
60:
50:
40:
31:
27:U.S. Robotics Corporation
510:digital signal processor
172:line, released in 1996.
19:Not to be confused with
156:, where its high-speed
630:Frank J. Derfler Jr.,
526:
459:
400:
367:
319:
154:bulletin board systems
524:
473:CommWorks Corporation
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381:Courier Dual Standard
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877:Schaumburg, Illinois
478:USR was acquired by
269:(and later moved to
227:improve this article
83:Schaumburg, Illinois
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16:Business enterprise
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195:people worldwide.
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681:groups.google.com
430:support, because
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824:Official website
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620:(November 1980).
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440:firmware upgrade
339:trellis encoding
271:Skokie, Illinois
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484:Platinum Equity
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140:, often called
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818:External links
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708:. 11 July 1994
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734:. 13 Sep 1994
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287:Isaac Asimov
279:Paul Collard
275:Casey Cowell
260:
245:
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225:Please help
220:verification
217:
174:
170:V.Everything
169:
165:
157:
145:
141:
137:
136:
79:Headquarters
41:Company type
636:PC Magazine
594:ExtremeTech
564:"About USR"
543:www.usr.com
335:Courier HST
856:Categories
599:2020-05-02
517:References
464:Palm, Inc.
390:CompuServe
181:Palm, Inc.
146:USRobotics
506:IBM Mwave
376:Sportster
301:Bell 212A
177:voiceband
166:Sportster
148:computer
500:See also
417:Winmodem
328:AT&T
292:I, Robot
267:Illinois
239:May 2008
183:for its
90:Products
55:Computer
51:Industry
45:Division
436:FidoNet
413:K56flex
346:Telebit
324:Courier
309:V.22bis
263:Chicago
199:History
162:FidoNet
120:Website
69: (
61:Founded
844:Yahoo!
839:Google
738:16 Nov
663:Medium
357:sysops
150:modems
109:Parent
94:Modems
85:, U.S.
805:2 May
780:2 May
759:2 May
712:2 May
686:2 May
548:2 May
482:firm
350:Hayes
185:Pilot
807:2017
782:2017
761:2017
740:2017
714:2017
688:2017
575:2017
550:2017
432:V.34
428:V.FC
405:V.90
305:V.22
303:and
192:3Com
129:.com
127:.usr
102:VoIP
71:1976
64:1976
568:USR
424:DSP
354:BBS
229:by
188:PDA
158:HST
142:USR
125:www
858::
798:.
730:.
704:.
679:.
661:.
643:^
634:,
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409:X2
265:,
100:,
96:,
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763:.
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252:)
246:(
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237:(
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73:)
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
