A topic dear to most IICS Members and others surfing the NET..... BANDWIDTH.
WHAT IS BANDWIDTH?
Bandwidth determines the speed that you can cruise the Net.
Think of bandwidth as a road or freeway. The larger the road and less
congested, the faster you can cruise on it. The information you receive
on your PC or Mac screen is the data that travels on the bandwidth.
Your modem converts the analog signal into a digital signal and vice versa. If you are
just using your phone line, an analog connection called POTS, the fastest
you can normally go is 28.8kbps. YES....it is Sloooowwwwww Now, back to the United States. It is typically not digital to the curb....that is to your house. The modem in your PC takes
the analog signal of the POTS line and translates it into a digital signal.
For a digital connection and for faster speeds, ISDN and T1.5 are
alternatives.
ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It is a cost effective multimedia
solution that is available in approximately 80% of the United States and growing.
ISDN is also available in over 30 countries. See the table below for
more specifics.
The table below gives a summary of different services
available for accessisng the Digital Superhighway.
as we probably
all have experienced...waiting for a page to load while on the Web.
Unfortunately most of us are probably using this. Think of this phone
line as a dirt paved road to the Digital Superhighway.
The dirt paved road is just a phone line from your local company that is
nicknamed POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service).
This is an analog service that allows you to connect to the Digital
Superhighway, nicknamed "the Cloud."
This is the long distance network which is basically 100% digital in the
United States.
Internationally the percentage of the network being digital varies by country. Japan and France are close to or
at a 100% digital network within their countries. The developed nations such as
Western Europe and Australia have decent digital infrastructures but when
you start getting into countries such as Mexico and countries in South
America and Africa it is a different story. To get a telephone
line installed can take several years in some developing countries. Before the
Berlin Wall came down, it was a 17 year wait to get a phone line in
East Germany. Today, some nations are going straight to celluar service
since it is quicker to implement than building an infrastructure over rough or undeveloped terrain.
The telephone density is much less in these developing countries as in the
United States. Telephone density is defined as the number of phone lines per 100
people. For example, in the United States there are about 79 lines per
every 100 people. In China there is about one line for every 100.
The table below on Bandwidth explains the Speed, Description, Provider, and Application for various
access services. An access service is your connection to the telephone company or Internet.
Access services covered in the table below are POTS, ISDN, and T1.5
| Item |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  128 kbps |  1.5Mbps |
|
| Description | An analog connection from your home or office to the local phone company | Provides two 64kbps digital communications lines (called "B" Channels and one 16 bit channel (called the "D" Channel) for signalling. This type of ISDN is called BRI (Basic Rate Interface); there is also ISDN called PRI (Primary Rate Interface) for large applications | Probably too pricey for average user, can be broken into twenty-four 56 or 64kbps channels, |
| Provider | Local phone company (also referred to as LEC or RBOC). In S. Calif. it would typically be either Pacific Bell or GTE. | LEC or RBOC, same as for POTS | Typically from LEC or RBOC but there are Alternate Access Providers that also sell this type of service such as MFS and Teleport. |
| Applications | Typically used for voice, fax, slow internet access, slow data transmission; of course a modem is requried for Internet Access... the faster the better such as a 28.8 kbps modem. | Used for data,voice, and video, and faster internet access than POTS...about 10x faster. NT1 and ISDN digital modem are required for Internet access as well as an ISP (Internet Service Provider). ISDN is priced at about $25 per month from Pacific Bell but prices are expected to rise and $44 per month from GTE. Prices vary widely across the nation for ISDN. This is for line charge only, not usage. This monthly rate could be more if your office is more than 3 miles from the local company serving office. | Corporations typically use T1.5 for combined voice and data applications. A DS1 card or Channel bank is used to break the T1.5 into 24 separate channels for voice or data transmissions. Contact your local phone company for more details and info on configuration. Normally priced at $300 and up depending on your office's distance from their (LEC or phone company's) serving office. |
ISDN Digital Modems ( estimated pricing starts at about $300 and goes up).
Prices listed below are approximate. Some of the ISDN
Digital Modems available today are:
Some considerations when shopping for an ISDN Modem besides cost are
how should the LEC configure your ISDN Line.
It is not as simple as just installing a POTS line. An ISDN line
will be custom configured, depending on the application(s) and device(s)
used with it. For example, an ISDN line can be configure to be Internet
Access at 64kbs, at 128kbps, as well as a voice and fax line.
For this the LEC needs to configure the ISDN for both voice and data on
both channels. Make sure the equipment used, specifically the ISDN Modem
and NT1, usually combined, is compatible and capable with what you want to
do. You can also receive multiple telephone numbers for each line or device that
you attach. Thus, instead of installing two POTS lines, the ISDN can
function as multiple lines - voice, data, fax, and Internet Access.
Contact the LEC for the number of telephone numbers
allowed. This can vary for each provider. Some ISDN modems allow you to be
surfing the Net at 128kbps, using the total bandwidth of the ISDN line, and
if you have an incoming fax or voice call,
your Internet access automatically steps down to one channel, 64 kbps, and
thus frees the other channel for your incoming voice or fax call.
At the ISDN SITE
you are able to get all kinds of info. on ISDN such as pricing,
availability, providers, ISDN Modem info., and other sorts of goodies.
Faster and affordable connections are predicted to come to the
consumer. New services such as ASDL and cable modems are future
plans for many of the telecommunications companies. With the
recent Telecommunications Deregulation Act there
is still major confusion and still regulation in the marketplace.
In the future we may even have the opportunity to purchase these services from other
players such as your Cable Company or even an Entertainment Company.
We are definitely in a Renaissance and only tomorrow knows what will
unfold.
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