[ISND????]
<<<"I would not have anyone hold their breath for massive ADSL or cable modem deployments. For now, managers should deploy what is available," says Vern Mackall, senior analyst for International Data Corp. (IDC), in New York. "ISDN and modem dial-up will be the access media of choice for the next several years.">>>
I think you've uncovered another troglodyte. Here's what the official FCC working document on the Internet says about ISDN:
>>>>*Alternate technologies:
A third set of answers involves alternate access technologies to replace the analog modems that most users now employ for Internet access. ISDN, which is available today in virtually all LEC central offices but is only used by a handful of residential customers, uses the network in a more efficient manner than analog modems, and also provides up to 128 kilobits per second of bandwidth. ISDN line units are generally non-blocking; in other words, ISDN is provisioned so that every line into a switch module has a corresponding path through the switch. However, ISDN is a circuit-based technology, and thus usage will continue to strain the PSTN. Other new technologies, such as digital subscriber line (xDSL), which provides up to 6 megabits per second of downstream throughput over ordinary copper lines, promise to avoid this constraint. xDSL modems can be connected directly to a packet network, thus avoiding switch congestion at the same time as they increase bandwidth available to end users. However, although prices are dropping rapidly, xDSL modems are currently very expensive relative to analog modems, and a substantial (but not clearly defined) percentage of LEC loops may not be able to support xDSL without additional conditioning. >>>
The FCC goes on to address ways the commission will encourage the adoption of solutions that will ease the voice network congestion:
>>>ú Tariffs and competition:
The FCC is interested in seeing higher bandwidth available to end users. However, the Commission's role is not to endorse any particular technology, or to artificially subsidize the deployment of such services generally. Instead, the Commission should investigate areas where regulatory rules may either be preventing technologies from being deployed, or distorting investment patterns and incentives for innovation. ****ISDN tariffs and the application of the SLC to ISDN may fall within this category.**** More generally, the deployment of high-bandwidth Internet access technologies may be constrained by the ability of competitors to take advantage of the existing network, either by purchasing existing tariffed services from local exchange carriers, or by leasing pieces of the network and combining them in new ways.
* Price cap and competition:
The FCC's interconnection, access charge, and price cap rules will therefore influence the deployment of higher bandwidth. In addition, the Commission is in the process of developing a Notice of Inquiry on innovation, to seek comment on other ways that FCC rules can provide incentives for both incumbents and competing providers to invest in their networks and deploy new technologies. Ultimately, only the market will decide which of these investments are wise and which technologies will succeed, but the FCC must provide a level playing field for those market forces to operate.<<<<
ISDN clearly has a few strikes against it.
Pat |
