[Asterisk-Users] X100P knock-off price jump

[Benjamin on Asterisk Mailing Lists]

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 12:52:47 -0500, Nathan C. Smith <smith at ipmvs.com> wrote:
> 
> Anyone know why the knock-off X100p prices have jumped?

I assume that the modems with the right chipsets are being phased out
of production.

We have been trying to get hold of such modems here in Japan, not
because they're cheaper but because it is next to impossible to sell
an Asterisk solution to a Japanese company without having a card that
has Japanese type approval. A modem that is being imported by a
Japanese reseller which has already got that type approval would save
us the pain and the cost to obtain type approval for the Digium X100P
card.

But if you ask anywhere in Japan about modems with the Intel 537 chip
set, they laugh at you and say "that's at least three years out of
date - we have newer chipsets now".

We have also asked the Taiwanese supplier of those Japanese importers
who used to sell those modems here in Japan if they still have the
same product in their portfolio and they said they don't make them
anymore.

I guess, eventually somebody will have to go through the trouble to
write a Zaptel driver for a newer chipset. Then again, modems are a
dying breed. Here in Japan, modem cards are now considered to be a
nostalgia item. I wouldn't be surprised if in a year from now, you
will not even be able to buy any PCI modems anywhere in Japan other
than in a few very trashy second hand shops. Korea may have reached
that state already. The US is of course behind with broadband
penetration.

Hopefully, Digium can keep their suppler/manufacturer to continue
making those X100P cards.

rgds
benjk

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