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From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org>
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: [Q] ISP :new to ISDN : Pointers?
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 22:17:02 -0700
Organization: Me
Lines: 80
Message-ID: <31D36ACE.6437E37B@lambert.org>
References: <4q5815$h7l@news.corpcomm.net> <Pine.3.91.960618005848.5013D-100000@fog.cs.odu.edu> <4q6ijt$rsv@hops.entertain.com> <31C9C03C.22722C64@lambert.org> <4qqh9s$ec@anorak.coverform.lan>
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Brian Somers wrote:
] Terry Lambert (terry@lambert.org) wrote:
]
] : TCI, are you listening? I know you are going 10Mbit/S via
] : cable modem in Phoenix in late 1996/early 1997. Come to
] : Tucson, and you can have me and most of my friends in the
] : area. It's unlikely that ISDN will be dumped in favor of
] : FR, or the prices dropped to anywhere near the prices range
] : you are charging for @HOME ( http://www.athome.com )
] : service... act now and solidify your market.
]
] Do you know how much frame relay costs ? Is it practical from an
] end-user point of view ? How does it compare with ADSL (if you
] don't mind the crappy transmit bandwith). How much is ADSL in the
] states ?
US$80/month to the cloud, flat rate, available in almost all
areas served by US West.
It's not practical because the ISP's in the area have not
established clouds. Internet Direct wanted $220/month for
a 64k endpoint in a cloud they would establish last time I
asked. This is too much. I will go as high as 1/4 my monthly
rent, total, for a 64k 24/7.
It's probably crap compared to ADSL, assuming you want to put
up a server of some kind instead of send slow requests up for
fast downloads (which is what ADSL is).
The AT&T ADSL requires a 5ESS or better switch; the ADSL cards
plug into the same slots as the ISDN cards currently use.
There is one 5ESS in Tucson, AZ, and my prefix is not in it,
and US West moves very slowly when updating equipment. Probably
slowly enough that TCI (a big US cable company) will be there
first and take away all their customers (me first).
Centrex (which is an ISDN virtual PBX service for business
phones at multiple sites) will work for 64k DOVBS (Data Over
Voice Bearer Service) ISDN modems; this will work if you and
your ISP are in the same phone exchange and it's a 5ESS or
better switch. The ISP establishes a Centrex office, and
you pay him to drop a "business phone" for his "branch office"
into your site.
] Pointers would be greatfully appreciated.
Frame Relay can be searched on www.yahoo.com, giving too many
links on the secondaries to be able to list them here.
] Unfortunately, England is a bit backwards in this respect. ISDN
] costs £400 (~$600) for installation and one of the biggest cable
] companies (Videotron) still thinks that "on-demand video" (the same
] technology as ADSL?) is a great _new_ idea. Frame relay is just
] not advertised - as if the technology was never invented.
England is primarily metered rate service, which is what the
US phone comapnies would like for local calling if they could
get the PUC's (Public Utility Commisions) to look the other
way. Usage-based costing makes it a lot easier to amortize,
and more profitable to upgrade. Most of the US is used to flat
rate local calling, except in certain types of high-commit
business lines -- generally the people who call you at 11am
Saturday morning when you are trying to sleep, or while you
are in the tub, etc..
Wired Magazine said "The only thing standing in the way of
video on demand is lack of demand". I kind of agree.
In England, it's gotta be worse, with the government licensing
of receivers.
Terry Lambert
terry@lambert.org
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.