Microcom

Microcom, Inc. was a United States telecommunications technology company that became an important modem supplier during the 1980s and early 1990s. Although it never achieved the consumer visibility of Hayes, USRobotics, or Telebit, Microcom influenced the technical development of dial-up data communications through its Microcom Networking Protocols, commonly known as MNP. These protocols added error correction and, later, data compression to modem connections, improving reliability and effective throughput over ordinary telephone lines. The company was founded in 1980 by James M. Dow, who had previously worked at Data General. Its early strategy was to compete in a market increasingly crowded with Hayes-compatible 1200-bit-per-second products without relying solely on expensive, high-performance modulation hardware. Instead, Microcom emphasized firmware and software features that could be implemented on relatively modest modem hardware. This approach produced the MNP family, with successive levels offering increasingly sophisticated packet handling, error correction, and compression. MNP 1 through MNP 4 focused primarily on reliable data transfer, while MNP 5 added adaptive data compression. The protocols were later submitted to the International Organization for Standardization and became widely implemented or licensed across the modem industry. Microcom also sold its own modem hardware. The AX/1200 and AX/2400 models combined conventional Bell 212A, V.22, or V.22bis operation with MNP 4 error correction. The AX/1200c and AX/2400c added MNP 5 compression. Its AX/9624c addressed the emerging 9,600-bit-per-second market using a V.29-derived approach and MNP 6 features. Later products included the QX/V32c, QX/4232, and QX/4232bis, which tracked the development of V.32 and V.32bis standards and incorporated newer compression systems. Microcom also worked with Rockwell on later protocol and chipset initiatives, including MNP 10 and MNP 10EC. The company broadened its product portfolio beyond stand-alone modems. DeskPorte products targeted desktop users, OfficePorte models added fax functions, and TravelPorte and TravelCard products served portable-computing customers through PC Card formats. Microcom promoted parallel-port connectivity and redirector software as ways to improve practical data throughput. Its communications-software portfolio included Carbon Copy, a remote-control and file-transfer product; LANlord, aimed at desktop and personal-computer management; and LANexpress, a corporate remote-access system. It also developed networking and access infrastructure such as the Microcom Bridge Router and the High Density Modem System, a centralized dial-pool platform used by service providers and early dial-up Internet and bulletin-board operators. Microcom became a public company in 1987. During the 1990s, the market moved rapidly toward standardized high-speed modem technologies, including V.32, V.32bis, and V.42bis, while Rockwell-based designs became increasingly common. Microcom participated in that transition but faced intensifying competition and technological convergence. In 1993, it resolved patent litigation brought by Spectrum Information Technologies through a consent decree and cross-licensing arrangement. Compaq purchased the publicly outstanding shares of Microcom in 1997, ending its status as an independent public company. Microcom is therefore best understood as a historical communications-technology company whose lasting industry contribution was the normalization of modem error correction and compression rather than the establishment of a dominant consumer hardware brand.

Microcom was established in 1980 by James M. Dow, a former Data General employee. It entered the modem industry at a time when Hayes-compatible 1200-bit-per-second products were rapidly multiplying. Rather than trying to win solely through more advanced modulation hardware, Microcom concentrated on adding software and firmware capabilities to relatively conventional modems. This strategy addressed an important practical problem: telephone-line connections were vulnerable to noise and transmission errors, and many users needed dependable file transfers as much as they needed higher nominal speeds. The result was the Microcom Networking Protocol family, or MNP. The earliest protocols used packet-oriented techniques to detect and correct errors. MNP 1 was designed to be comparatively simple and capable of implementation on existing modem hardware, while later levels required more memory and processing but delivered improved throughput and reliability. MNP 4 became a significant feature of Microcom's AX/1200 and AX/2400 products, which otherwise used established Bell 212A, V.22, and V.22bis modem standards. When compatible Microcom protocol implementations operated at both ends of a connection, they could provide substantially more dependable transfers than a basic uncorrected modem link. Microcom subsequently introduced MNP 5, which compressed data before transmission. Compression could raise effective throughput when the data was compressible, while retaining the error-correction functions of the earlier protocols. The technology appeared in the AX/1200c and AX/2400c models. MNP levels 1 through 5 were later submitted to ISO for standardization and were adopted or licensed by numerous modem manufacturers. This broad implementation gave Microcom influence beyond the sales of its own hardware. As 9,600-bit-per-second modems emerged, Microcom introduced the AX/9624c. It used a variation of V.29 modulation in a design intended to provide full-duplex operation at a lower price than some competing proprietary products, while also retaining compatibility with slower V.22bis connections. Microcom continued to follow modem-standard developments with the QX/V32c, QX/4232, and QX/4232bis families. The arrival and performance of V.42bis compression reduced the relative advantage of MNP 5, so Microcom adapted its product strategy to newer standards and higher speeds. The company also worked with Rockwell on later initiatives, including MNP 10 and MNP 10EC, and increasingly incorporated Rockwell chipsets. Microcom expanded its hardware range to serve different user groups. DeskPorte was aimed at desktop customers, OfficePorte added fax functions, and TravelPorte and TravelCard products addressed portable-computer users through PC Card devices. The company also supplied software that allowed a parallel port to serve as a communications interface, using a redirector to improve the connection between the computer and modem. Its business was not limited to modems. Carbon Copy provided remote-control and file-transfer functions, while LANlord addressed desktop and PC management. LANexpress offered a corporate remote-access platform. Microcom Bridge Router extended the company's networking portfolio, and High Density Modem System centralized multiple dial-up connections for service providers. Such systems were used during the early growth of dial-in Internet access and bulletin-board services. Microcom's command conventions also had an industry legacy. It added backslash-prefixed commands for its protocol features while retaining Hayes-compatible ampersand commands for established modem controls. Other manufacturers adopted portions of these conventions as MNP became common, although Hayes, USRobotics, and Telebit maintained competing command approaches for periods of time. Later chipset consolidation and wider standards adoption reduced these differences. Microcom went public in 1987. In 1993, it resolved a patent lawsuit brought by Spectrum Information Technologies through a consent decree and cross-licensing arrangement. The company was eventually acquired by Compaq, which purchased the publicly outstanding shares in 1997. The acquisition ended Microcom's independent corporate existence. Its principal historical importance lies in making modem error correction and compression practical, recognizable, and widely available across the dial-up communications industry.

• 1997

  Compaq acquires the company

  [1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  Compaq purchased Microcom's publicly outstanding shares.

• 1993

  Patent dispute is settled

  [1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  Microcom resolved litigation from Spectrum Information Technologies through a consent decree and patent cross-license.

• 1987

  Microcom goes public

  [1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  The company became publicly traded during its expansion as a modem and communications-technology supplier.

• 1980

  Microcom is founded

  [1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  James M. Dow founded Microcom after working at Data General.

Microcom positioned itself as a technically innovative modem and communications-software supplier, differentiating its products through reliable data transfer, modem-based compression, remote access, and practical connectivity features rather than competing only on raw transmission speed.

• Modem communication protocols

  Microcom Networking Protocols

  The MNP family provided packet-based error detection, correction, and later compression for dial-up modem connections. Its successive levels traded implementation complexity and memory requirements for better reliability and throughput. MNP became one of Microcom's most influential contributions because competing modem manufacturers widely adopted or licensed the technology.

• Dial-up modems

  AX modem series

  The AX/1200 and AX/2400 introduced Microcom's MNP error-correction features alongside established 1200- and 2400-bit-per-second standards. The AX/1200c and AX/2400c added compression through MNP 5, while the AX/9624c targeted the 9,600-bit-per-second market with a V.29-derived design and MNP 6 capabilities.

• High-speed dial-up modems

  QX modem series

  The QX/V32c, QX/4232, and QX/4232bis families followed the development of V.32 and V.32bis standards. They represented Microcom's effort to remain competitive as the modem market moved from proprietary 9,600-bit-per-second systems toward more standardized high-speed products and newer compression technologies.

• Desktop, fax, and portable modems

  DeskPorte, OfficePorte, TravelPorte, and TravelCard

  These product families extended Microcom's modem business across user segments. DeskPorte served desktop users, OfficePorte added fax functionality, and TravelPorte and TravelCard addressed portable-computing customers through PC Card products. Some models supported parallel-port communications through Microcom redirector software.

• Remote-control and file-transfer software

  Carbon Copy

  Carbon Copy was Microcom's remote-control and file-transfer software offering. It broadened the company's role from modem hardware supplier to provider of applications that used dial-up connections for remote access, support, and exchange of files.

• LAN management software

  LANlord

  LANlord was a desktop and personal-computer management product in Microcom's software portfolio. It reflected the company's attempt to participate in enterprise and network administration markets in addition to selling individual modems.

• Networking equipment

  Microcom Bridge Router

  The Microcom Bridge Router extended the company's product range into network connectivity and routing, complementing its modem, remote-access, and communications-software businesses.

• Centralized dial-up access system

  High Density Modem System

  High Density Modem System, or HDMS, centralized groups of dial-up modem ports. It was used by service providers and early Internet and bulletin-board operators as demand for dial-in access expanded.

• Corporate remote-access software

  LANexpress

  LANexpress was Microcom's corporate remote-access solution, aimed at connecting users and organizational networks over dial-up communications infrastructure.

• 1997

  Accept acquisition by CompaqM&A

  Background

  Microcom operated in a rapidly consolidating modem and personal-computing technology market.

  Action taken

  Compaq purchased the publicly outstanding shares of Microcom.

  Aftermath

  Microcom ceased to operate as an independent publicly owned company.

  Source

• 1993

  Resolve Spectrum patent litigationOther

  Background

  Spectrum Information Technologies brought a patent lawsuit against Microcom.

  Action taken

  Microcom entered a consent decree that included a cross-licensing agreement for patents.

  Aftermath

  The settlement resolved the reported dispute without a separate trial outcome being described in the reference material.

  Source

• 1990

  Expand into portable, fax, and enterprise communicationsProduct launch

  Background

  Modem users were diversifying across desktop, portable, corporate, and service-provider environments.

  Action taken

  Microcom developed DeskPorte, OfficePorte, TravelPorte, and TravelCard products, while also offering remote-access software, routers, and centralized modem systems.

  Aftermath

  The broader portfolio reduced the company's reliance on a single stand-alone modem category and connected its products to emerging remote-access markets.

  Source

• 1980

  Compete through modem intelligence rather than only speedStrategy

  Background

  The market was filling with Hayes-compatible modems, while advanced high-speed modulation could require expensive and powerful hardware.

  Action taken

  Microcom developed software-oriented MNP error-correction and compression capabilities that could be implemented on comparatively modest modem platforms.

  Aftermath

  The approach gave Microcom a distinctive position and produced protocols that were later adopted or licensed by many modem manufacturers.

  Source

• 1997

  Compaq acquires Microcom[1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Compaq purchased the publicly outstanding shares of Microcom, removing the company from independent public ownership.

• 1993

  Microcom settles Spectrum Information Technologies patent litigation[1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  The dispute was resolved through a consent decree that included a cross-licensing agreement covering patents.

• 1987

  Microcom becomes a public company[1]Microcomen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Microcom went public as it expanded its modem and communications-software business.

1. 1Microcomen.wikipedia.org