Rediff On The Net, Infotech: A spot interview with Dr Dennis Packard


	HOME \| INFOTECH \| IT INDIA '97/COMDEX \| HEADLINES

December 4, 1997

HEADLINES
JOBS
COM:PORT
POLICY POLICE
ARCHIVES

'56K is the end of the line for the analogue modem'

Dr Dennis Packard is the Asia-Pacific director of Rockwell Semiconductors Systems Singapore. The company supplies core technologies for modems. The strategy is simple; stick to Internet access technologies and surf the big WWW wave.
Dr Packard believes that 56K is the end of the line for the analogue modem. So his company has developed a technology which puts digital

T O D A Y

• Q&A: Sanjay Kumar
• Jon DeVaan's keynote
• The Net infrastructure
• Q&A: Dr D Packard
• PCs or NCs?
• Sites and servers
• The localisation issue

and analogue functionality on a single chip. They call it the 'consumer digital subscriber loop', or CDSL.
This means that if the server is fitted with CDSL, the client can log on with a regular modem and yet enjoy 56K plus connectivity!

Soon after he delivered a talk on 'Developing an Internet infrastructure', R Vijay Shankar cornered him for a quick 'n sharp spot interview, exclusive to Rediff On The Net:

At what stage is the development of Rockwell's CDSL technology?
CDSL with common world standards is slated for trial runs in the United States in April 1998. Field trial, acceptance by the International Telecommunications Union and deployment in the US is expected to take about an year.

What is your impression of the Internet usage growth rate in India?
I am impressed with the interest in the Internet among the government, organisations and the people. Internet usage here, I am sure, is poised for tremendous growth in the very near future.

In your impression, what is the biggest hurdle in the path of the Internet's growth in India?
So far, the problem has clearly been the lack of multiple access providers. The VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) has not been able to procure equipment fast enough and access points ought to be increased through a larger number of Internet Service Providers.

Is Rockwell looking at any collaborative efforts in India?
We are working with manufactures for cooperation retail programmes. So that the Indian public sees and recognises the effort, we have introduced the 'K56' logo in the country. We are also considering procuring software development services from here and are studying the possibilities for a design centre in the country. But no sharp timeframe has been set yet.

What's been your impression of this event so far?
I have been here earlier and am really impressed with the tremendous rise in participation from Indian organisations and companies. There is a bright future for information technology here.

Also: Developing an Internet Infrastructure

Tell us what you think of this story