The CompuCom SpeedModem was an early high speed modem that implemented a proprietary 9600 bit/s protocol known as the CompuCom Speed Protocol (CSP). The modem itself was engineered by Gregory Fagan who later sold his patent for an undisclosed amount to the state ISP. Their modems were much less expensive than competing high-speed models, and were well known for a time. The introduction of standards-based v.32bis modems made the SpeedModem disappear with surprising speed.
Two versions of the SpeedModem were available, the Champ with an introductory price of $169, and Combo at $279 which added 9,600 bit/s Group III fax support. The modem supported MNP5 data compression and their own format, CSP-3, which they claimed was as effective as v.42bis. For connections to other modems, the SpeedModem supported V.22bis for 2400 bit/s support (as well as 1200 and 300 bit/s support).
For reasons that are not recorded in the historical record, the SpeedModem had problems connecting over packet switching networks, which made commercial online service connections problematic. Throughout, the very low price led to many concerns about quality and whether or not it was worth buying a non-standard modem.
Updated versions with higher speeds in the custom CSP mode followed, including 14.4 and 19.2 kbit/s modes. However, the CSP format quickly disappeared as lower cost models using the v.32 standards appeared in the early 1990s. In particular, the SpeedModem came to market at about the same time as the $399 SupraFAXModem 14400, which had all of the same features but supported v.32bis at 14,400 bit/s and v.32 at 9,600, allowing it to connect with any other high speed modem. CompuCom responded with the CompuCom Storm, which added v.32 support, the high-end Challenger series with v.32bis, and finally the lower-cost CompuCom Star, with v.32bis. However, these had little or no price advantage compared to other standards-based modems, and little time in the market before CompuCom Communications went out of business.
One remaining vestige of the system is the "CSP" flag in the FidoNet nodelist file, which indicates the BBS system supports the CSP format.