CAPEK%YKTVMT.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu (Peter G. Capek) (11/19/90)
I saw somewhere recently a news article that reported a substantial increase in the rate at which AT&T was filling orders for ISDN service. This got me to thinking... 1) Why is AT&T, rather than my LEC, supplying ISDN service? I suppose it might make sense for AT&T to supply "long distance" ISDN service, either to my LEC, or indirectly to me. Apparently, I inferred too close a similarity between POTS and ISDN. What's the truth? Is there something about ISDN which makes it fundamentally different from POTS in a REGULATORY sense? 2) How does AT&T supply ISDN service? Do they get the LEC to provide a leased line from my premises to one of their 114 #4 ESS'? Or to some other switch which interfaces to their network in some other way? 3) (Unrelated to ISDN...) Why are LEC's called LOCAL exchange carriers? Wouldn't it make more sense to call them, for example, LATA exchange carriers, since a LATA is the limit of their (possibly multiple) transport area? Similarly, why are IXC's called that? They don't carry traffic between exchanges any more than LEC's do: but they DO generally carry traffic between exchanges which are further away from one another than the LEC's. Peter Capek
chip@chinacat.unicom.com (Chip Rosenthal) (11/20/90)
> Why is AT&T, rather than my LEC, supplying ISDN service?
I think you might be confused about the different flavors of ISDN.
What AT&T is offering is PRI (primary rate interface) ISDN. If your
company uses T1 PBX's then you'd buy ACCUNET T1.5 from them. If it
uses ISDN PBX's, then you buy these ISDN lines. This is all
point-to-point leased line stuff.
You are probably interested in BRI (basic rate interface) ISDN, a very
different animal.
Chip Rosenthal 512-482-8260
Unicom Systems Development
<chip@chinacat.Unicom.COM> jhf@cblpe.att.com (Jeffri H Frontz) (11/21/90)
In article <14802@accuvax.nwu.edu>, CAPEK%YKTVMT.BITNET (Peter G. Capek) writes: > 1) Why is AT&T, rather than my LEC, supplying ISDN service? My understanding is that you can save a lot on access charges by bypassing the LEC. > 2) How does AT&T supply ISDN service? Do they get the LEC to provide a > leased line from my premises to one of their 114 #4 ESS'? Or to some > other switch which interfaces to their network in some other way? Now, I'm not in marketing, so I don't know what AT&T actually offers to our customers. I do know that it's technically possible to connect a suitably equipped PBX (or anything else that speaks Q.931, I think) right up to a 4E. I've heard that the customer can either provide the connection to the 4E or can contract with a LEC or whatever they want. Jeff Frontz Work: +1 614 860 2797 AT&T-Bell Labs (CB 1C-356) Cornet: 353-2797 att!jeff.frontz jeff.frontz@att.com
grayt@uunet.uu.net (Tom Gray) (11/29/90)
In article <14802@accuvax.nwu.edu>, CAPEK%YKTVMT.BITNET (Peter G. Capek) writes: > 1) Why is AT&T, rather than my LEC, supplying ISDN service? ISDN is a set of protocols. Any service provider can use the ISDN protocols for its service. If ATT has a service that it is legally able to provide to an individual site, then it can use ISDN protocols or any other that it sees fit. ISDN is not a service; it is a means of providing services. Both the LEC and AT&T (or any other service provider) will provide their services using ISDN. ISDN is not an end in itself; it is a means of communicating. It will make new serivces possible but will not define or (hopefully) limit them.
feustel@ames.arc.nasa.gov (David Feustel) (11/29/90)
I've tried to find out about ISDN offerings from GTE of Indiana, but no one there (that I've talked to) knows what ISDN is. David Feustel, 1930 Curdes Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, (219) 482-9631 EMAIL: netcom.uucp
ellson@homxc.att.com (John Ellson) (12/05/90)
From article <15102@accuvax.nwu.edu>, by amdcad!netcom!feustel@ ames.arc.nasa.gov (David Feustel): > I've tried to find out about ISDN offerings from GTE of Indiana, but > no one there (that I've talked to) knows what ISDN is. That's funny. I just tried the same thing with US West in Phoenix and they hadn't heard about it either. Now I was serious in my request - I need extra services so that I can telecommute effectively (155 Mbits would be nice :-) ), but my office mate thought that was so funny that he tried New Jersey Bell. Guess what: "What's ISDN?"!. So ISDN really does stand for: "I Still Don't Know." To be fair to US West, it was the residential service office that hadn't heard of ISDN and they have passed me on to their small business office, who passed me on to their Engineering Department, who had heard of ISDN. Still waiting to find out what they can provide me at what price. John Ellson j.ellson@att.com