June 21, 2004
BY HOWARD WOLINSKY Business Reporter

By all rights, U.S. Robotics should be as extinct as the 300-baud modem.

Analysts long ago wrote off the analog modems that USR pioneered, predicting that the next-generation DSL and cable modems would sweep 56k and slower into computer museums. But for the moment, the majority of American households still use old-fashioned analog modems: As of last month, 51 percent had "narrowband" connections while 49 percent had broadband, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

USR, the once and present king of analog modems -- devices that helped spread the Internet revolution -- is still alive and profitable, said Joseph Hartnett, who led a turnaround since taking over as CEO in 2001. Hartnett is hoping to attract new investors to provide capital to the company that aims to develop new products and new directions to take on the likes of Linksys and D-Link, the leaders of the new revolution in Wi-Fi wireless networks.

U.S. Robotics was the stuff that tech legends are made of.

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