2-2 Netopia ISDN Modem User’s Guide

About ISDN

ISDN uses digital technology to connect to the public telephone network. Using the existing copper wire and public telephone network infrastructure, ISDN provides for existing voice services and high-speed, dial-up data service.

Networks using ISDN communicate more efficiently than those using analog lines. This is due to the relatively low cost of ISDN, the fact that digital lines are relatively free of the random noise associated with analog lines, and the high communication speeds that can be achieved. ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) lines can reach speeds of up to 128 thousand bits per second (Kbps). A typical high-speed modem can only send data over an analog line at up to 28.8 Kbps.

You can convert almost any existing regular telephone line to ISDN by ordering ISDN service for that line. In most cases, no rewiring is necessary for the conversion and no special equipment is needed to use the converted line with your Netopia ISDN Modem. (Keep in mind that if you convert an analog line to an ISDN line, you will not be able to directly connect analog devices to the ISDN line in most cases.)

ISDN and the Netopia ISDN Modem

If you’ve been using an ordinary modem to dial into analog data services, such as a corporate LAN or online service, you can continue to do so with your digital ISDN line. Simply connect your analog modem to one of the analog device ports on the Netopia ISDN Modem and continue to use your analog devices in the same fashion as before.

The Netopia ISDN Modem will convert the analog signal to a digital signal for transmission over the ISDN line in such a way that it can be retransmitted by the public switched network to an analog device.

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Farallon Communications 412, 612 manual About Isdn, Isdn and the Netopia Isdn Modem