Fall back and forward - Definition and Overview

Fall back is a feature of a modem protocol in data communication whereby two communicating modems which experience data corruption (due to line noise, for example) can renegotiate with each other to use a lower-speed connection. Fall forward is a corresponding feature whereby two modems which have "fallen back" to a lower speed can later return to the higher speed if the connection improves.

Article based on fall back (http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=fall+back) and fall forward (http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=fall+forward) at FOLDOC (http://www.foldoc.org), used with permission.