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Downtown modem company keeps puttering along

By adamg on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 9:31am

If you remember these sounds, you probably remember Zoom Telephonics, one of the early leaders in dial-up modems. Turns out the company's still around and headquartered on Franklin Street, although it now sells cable modems, which don't make any sounds, under the Motorola name. And it's expanding: It announced yesterday it's buying an Internet-of-things vendor for $30 million.

Neighborhoods: 
Downtown
Topics: 
Business
Free tagging: 
Franklin Street


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Comments

By StillFromDorchester on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 9:36am.

Back in the day, I didn't know they were still in business.

By cybah on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 10:12am.

I forgot about Zoom. Only because you couldn't pry the US Robotics Sportster out of my hands.

But they are the only one left that didnt get gobbled up by someone.

Hayes went out of business in 1998 and Zoom bought

US Robotics become 3com.

By schneidz on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 10:21am.

cable transceivers (or internet x-ceivers) are a totally digital network so there is no modulation/demodulation of a discrete signal to run on a p.o.t.s. medium. thus the sound of it negotiating the baud rate between 14 kbps and 56k...

By ScottB on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 10:45am.

The data is just modulated/demodulated to/from an RF signal which is carried over coax to/from a fiber node. Modem doesn't necessarily connote the use of POTS as the transmission medium.

By schneidz on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 2:08pm.

thumbs up.

By Bob Leponge on Sat, 11/14/2020 - 11:35am.

cable transceivers (or internet x-ceivers) are a totally digital network

The actual cable coming into your house is carrying an analog signal. The cable modem modulates and demodulates this analog signal to and from a digital stream of bits using QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) or PSK (Phase Shift Keying). It is absolutely a modem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOCSIS

By Raymie on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 10:46am.

Company had no HR systems in place. Managers yelling over the PA system. Worst atmosphere I ever worked. Thankfully, another job offer saved my sanity.

By anon on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 11:33am.

Burned Nasdaq investors were so spooked, that they dumped all their cash into mortgage-backed securities. That really worked out well.

By anon on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 4:16pm.

And ironically then everyone moved back to tech stocks and one of biggest bubbles is Zoom the video conference company.

By redheadedjen on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 12:04pm.

Way back in 2001 I worked for Zoom. I survived six rounds of layoffs and got it after that. I can't believe it is still there.

By massmarrier on Fri, 11/13/2020 - 4:05pm.

...about working there...

It was my first tech-writing job, sole contributor to docs. The guy I replaced was sick of the place and headed off to get a masters in social work to do good. He interviewed and hired me. Before he did, he sighed deeply and said "I'm sorry.; The job is yours."