[geeks] ISDN questions

[Michael Schiller]

Joshua D Boyd wrote:
> 
> What do people think of the idea of instead of getting a regular phone
> line or two, just getting a single ISDN line for all phone use?  My
> understanding is that the per minute billing charges, in most areas,
> are only applied for data calls, not voice calls.  I've heard that 56k
> modems operate better over ISDN (while still being considered a voice
> call), and that ISDN is nicer for setting up a home PBX.

When I lived here in TN before I had an ISDN line. While I was actually
using it for a data connection, Most ISDN devices can support Bandwidth
On Demand, and that's how mine was setup, so the second line was only
used when actually needed, otherwise it was connected with only one B
channel (56k), and I had a FAX machine setup on the second line. Another
feature of ISDN & BOD is that if somebody tried to call the fax number,
and it was currently being used for a data connection it would drop the
line, answer the fax, then reconnect the line after the 'voice' call was
over. Depending on where you live, different states have different rules
concerning ISDN. Here in TN a residential ISDN line is $35/mo for
unlimited calls (both voice & data) within the local calling area. Of
course the local calling area is much smaller than for an analog phone,
but my ISP was in the same town, so it was a local call :) You might
want to check and see if residential ISDN has per minute charges where
you are. I know that commercial ISDN here in TN is fairly expensive, and
DOES have per minute charges, but it seems that residential services are
regulated by the state, whereas commercial rates either aren't
regulated, or the telco is given a lot more room in their pricing, I'm
not sure which.

> 
> But none of that information comes from anything resembling good
> sources, and I hear that asking the telco for all the details is an
> excersise in futility.  But, it does sound like something worth
> exploring.
> 
The Telco can sometimes give you good info, sometimes not, it all
depends on who you're talking to. BellSouth has a special ISDN group,
and talking to them for the most part gets you good info, talking to an
average operator gives you crap.
-- 
-Mike
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