ESS MPB-000081 V.90 56K ISA Modem Card Ver 1.2 KWX-ES56KISP Dial-Up

ESS MPB-000081 V.90 56K ISA Modem Card Ver 1.2 KWX-ES56KISP Dial-Up

The ESS MPB-000081 is a V.90 56 Kbps internal dial-up modem on a 16-bit ISA card, manufactured by ESS Technology and labeled Version 1.2. It carries FCC ID KWX-ES56KISP and was made in Taiwan. The card installs into a standard ISA slot and provides a telephone-line interface via two RJ-11 ports on the bracket — one for the incoming phone line and one for a passthrough handset connection.

Specifications & What's Included

• Part Number: MPB-000081
• FCC ID: KWX-ES56KISP
• Version: 1.2
• Modem Standard: V.90
• Maximum Data Rate: 56 Kbps
• Bus Interface: 16-bit ISA
• Main Chipset: ESS Technology ES56K V.90 controller (yellow-labeled IC, visible on PCB)
• Additional ICs visible: Atmel AT5-256, LM386 audio op-amp, TL062CP dual op-amp, relay
• Bracket Connectors: 2x RJ-11 (line + phone), 2x 3.5mm audio jacks
• Country of Manufacture: Taiwan (printed on PCB)
• CE marked
• Card only — no driver disk or cables included

Applications

The V.90 standard, finalized by the ITU in 1998, was the last major analog dial-up modem specification before broadband displaced dial-up internet access in the early 2000s. ISA-slot modems like the MPB-000081 were used in desktop PCs of the late 1990s running Windows 95, 98, ME, and early Windows 2000, connecting to internet service providers and bulletin board systems (BBS) over standard public switched telephone networks (PSTN). The ISA bus was the dominant PC expansion interface through the mid-1990s before PCI took over; by the late 1990s ISA slots were still present in many boards for legacy compatibility, making cards like this one the last generation of ISA dial-up hardware. Today these cards are sought by vintage PC builders and retrocomputing enthusiasts restoring period-correct systems, as well as operators of legacy industrial or embedded PCs that still rely on ISA slots for modem connectivity.