ISDN

(ISDN)(Integrated Services Digital Network) An international telecommunications standard for providing a digital service from the customer's premises to the dial-up telephone network. * Integrated Services refers to ISDN's ability to deliver at minimum two simultaneous connections, in any combination of data, voice, video, and fax, over a single line. Multiple devices can be attached to the line, and used as needed. That means an ISDN line can take care of most people's complete communications needs at a much higher transmission rate, without forcing the purchase of multiple analog phone lines. * Digital refers to its purely digital transmission, as opposed to the analog transmission of plain old telephone service (POTS). Use of an analog telephone modem for Internet access requires that the Internet service provider's (ISP) modem converts the digital content to analog signals before sending it and the user's modem then converts those signals back to digital when receiving. When connecting with ISDN there is no analog conversion. ISDN transmits data digitally, resulting in a very clear transmission quality. There is none of the static and noise of analog transmissions that can cause slow transmission speed. * Network refers to the fact that ISDN is not simply a point-to-point solution like a leased line. ISDN networks extend from the local telephone exchange to the remote user and includes all of the telecommunications and switching equipment in between. As well as being used for data, an ISDN line can call carry voice calls. Whereas on an analogue line digital data has to be turned into an analogue signal, on a digital line, it is the analogue voices that have to be converted to digital signals. Many ISDN terminal adaptors provide 'analogue sockets' into which you can connect regular telephones (or fax machines, answerphones etc). You may well have come across BT Highway.

BT Business Highway -v- ISDN2e

What equipment do I need for an ISDN line ? For data, as ISDN is fully digital, a 'Modem' is not needed. Instead a Terminal Adaptor (TA) is used which connects your computer to the ISDN line - it works much like a modem. ISDN calls connect almost instantly, compared to modem calls which can take up to 30 seconds while they negotiate. An ISDN2 line provides two channels for data, each of which can carry data at up to 64000 bps. Each of the channels can be used for separate calls to two different destinations - just like having two separate lines. ISDN lines can carry voice, data and fax calls and can make 'analogue' calls to regular telephone lines, assuming that you have appropriate equipment. How do I plug in a regular telephone into my ISDN line ? As mentioned earlier, you can place regular voice calls over an ISDN line. You cannot connect your telephone straight into the ISDN line though - you have to have a terminal adaptor with an analogue port which can digitize your voice. You can also connect faxes, answerphones and modems to analogue ports. On BT's Highway, two analogue ports are provided on the wallbox itself, each with its own phone number. In the event of a power cut then one of these continues to work on limited power. The two phone numbers allocated to the BT Highway analogue ports are not delivered to the line's digital ports - you get a different phone number for that or with Business Highway, you can have MSN which gives you several phone numbers. If your Terminal Adaptor has analogue ports, you can make use of these digital numbers for voice calls. However, BT intends to retire both ISDN2 and Business Highway by March 31st 2008, being superseded by Business Broadband

ISDN30e

This is an advanced digital solution for the larger business that requires 8 lines or more. It is the equivalent of up to 30 analogue lines, each of which work at 64kbps. It is a high performance voice and data service for the modern business. The digital technology ensures exceptional line quality. What are the benefits of ISDN30e? * Connections are almost instant * Voice communications with other ISDN users are crystal clear * You can send and receive calls to all telephone subscribers, whether they use digital or analogue equipment * Data transfer is fast and error free * Free support service in the event of service failure meaning you won’t miss any calls * There is a wide range of compatible equipment, giving you access to the latest digital technology * You can provide your staff with individual DDI numbers Each ISDN30 connection provides between 8 and 30 independent 64k channels. You can combine these for bandwidth-hungry applications such as high-quality video conferencing or transferring large data files. ISDN is ideal for wide-area networks linking two or more offices

DO YOU REQUIRE ISDN2e or ISDN30e?
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