Integrated Services Digital Network

ISDN is used heavily by the broadcast industry as a reliable way of switching low-latency, high-quality, long-distance audio circuits. In conjunction with an appropriate codec using MPEG or various manufacturers' proprietary algorithms, an ISDN BRI can be used to send stereo bi-directional audio coded at 128 kbit/s with 20 Hz – 20 kHz audio bandwidth, although commonly the G.722 algorithm is used with a single 64 kbit/s B channel to send much lower latency mono audio at the expense of audio quality. Where very high quality audio is required multiple ISDN BRIs can be used in parallel to provide a higher bandwidth circuit switched connection. BBC Radio 3 commonly makes use of three ISDN BRIs to carry 320 kbit/s audio stream for live outside broadcasts. ISDN BRI services are used to link remote studios, sports grounds and outside broadcasts into the main broadcast studio. ISDN via satellite is used by field reporters around the world. It is also common to use ISDN for the return audio links to remote satellite broadcast vehicles.

In many countries, such as the UK and Australia, ISDN has displaced the older technology of equalised analogue landlines, with these circuits being phased out by telecommunications providers. Use of IP-based streaming codecs such as Comrex ACCESS and ipDTL is becoming more widespread in the broadcast sector, using broadband internet to connect remote studios.[11]

ISDN-BRI never gained popularity as a general use telephone access technology in Canada and the US, and remains a niche product. The service was seen as "a solution in search of a problem",[12] and the extensive array of options and features were difficult for customers to understand and use. ISDN has long been known by derogatory backronyms highlighting these issues, such as It Still Does Nothing, Innovations Subscribers Don't Need, and I Still Don't kNow,[13][14] or, from the supposed standpoint of telephone companies, I Smell Dollars Now.[15]

Once the term "broadband Internet access" came to be associated with data rates incoming to the customer at 256 kbit/s or more,[lower-alpha 1] and alternatives like ADSL grew in popularity, the consumer market for BRI did not develop. Its only remaining advantage is that, while ADSL has a functional distance limitation and can use ADSL loop extenders, BRI has a greater limit and can use repeaters. As such, BRI may be acceptable for customers who are too remote for ADSL. Widespread use of BRI is further stymied by some small North American CLECs such as CenturyTel having given up on it and not providing Internet access using it.[19] However, AT&T in most states (especially the former SBC/SWB territory) will still install an ISDN BRI line anywhere a normal analog line can be placed and the monthly charge is roughly $55.

ISDN-BRI is currently primarily used in industries with specialized and very specific needs. High-end videoconferencing hardware can bond up to 8 B-channels together (using a BRI circuit for every 2 channels) to provide digital, circuit-switched video connections to almost anywhere in the world. This is very expensive, and is being replaced by IP-based conferencing, but where cost concern is less of an issue than predictable quality and where a QoS-enabled IP does not exist, BRI is the preferred choice.

Most modern non-VoIP PBXs use ISDN-PRI circuits. These are connected via T1 lines with the central office switch, replacing older analog two-way and direct inward dialing (DID) trunks. PRI is capable of delivering Calling Line Identification (CLID) in both directions so that the telephone number of an extension, rather than a company's main number, can be sent. It is still commonly used in recording studios and some radio programs, when a voice-over actor or host is in one studio (possibly telecommuting from home), but the director and producer are in a studio at another location.[6] The ISDN protocol delivers channelized, not-over-the-Internet service, powerful call setup and routing features, faster setup and tear down, superior audio fidelity as compared to POTS (plain old telephone service), lower delay and, at higher densities, lower cost.

In 2013, Verizon announced it would no longer take orders for ISDN service in the Northeastern United States.[6]

On April 19, 1988, Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor began offering nationwide ISDN services trademarked INS Net 64, and INS Net 1500, a fruition of NTT's independent research and trial from the 1970s of what it referred to the INS (Information Network System).[20]

Telstra provides the business customer with the ISDN services. There are five types of ISDN services which are ISDN2, ISDN2 Enhanced, ISDN10, ISDN20 and ISDN30. Telstra changed the minimum monthly charge for voice and data calls. In general, there are two group of ISDN service types; The Basic Rate services – ISDN 2 or ISDN 2 Enhanced. Another group of types are the Primary Rate services, ISDN 10/20/30.[21] Telstra announced that the new sales of ISDN product would be unavailable as of 31 January 2018. The final exit date of ISDN service and migration to the new service would be confirmed by 2022.[22]

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel are the largest communication service providers, and offer both ISDN BRI and PRI services across the country. Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel uses the DLC technology for providing these services. With the introduction of broadband technology, the load on bandwidth is being absorbed by ADSL. ISDN continues to be an important backup network for point-to-point leased line customers such as banks, Eseva Centers,[23] Life Insurance Corporation of India, and SBI ATMs.

On April 19, 1988, Japanese telecommunications company NTT began offering nationwide ISDN services trademarked INS Net 64, and INS Net 1500, a fruition of NTT's independent research and trial from the 1970s of what it referred to the INS (Information Network System).[24]

Previously, in April 1985, Japanese digital telephone exchange hardware made by Fujitsu was used to experimentally deploy the world's first I interface ISDN. The I interface, unlike the older and incompatible Y interface, is what modern ISDN services use today.

Since 2000, NTT's ISDN offering have been known as FLET's ISDN, incorporating the "FLET's" brand that NTT uses for all of its ISP offerings.

In Japan, the number of ISDN subscribers dwindled as alternative technologies such as ADSL, cable Internet access, and fiber to the home gained greater popularity. On November 2, 2010, NTT announced plans to migrate their backend from PSTN to the IP network from around 2020 to around 2025. For this migration, ISDN services will be retired, and fiber optic services are recommended as an alternative.[25]

In the United Kingdom, British Telecom (BT) provides ISDN2e (BRI) as well as ISDN30 (PRI). Until April 2006, they also offered services named Home Highway and Business Highway, which were BRI ISDN-based services that offered integrated analogue connectivity as well as ISDN. Later versions of the Highway products also included built-in USB sockets for direct computer access. Home Highway was bought by many home users, usually for Internet connection, although not as fast as ADSL, because it was available before ADSL and in places where ADSL does not reach.

In early 2015, BT announced their intention to retire the UK's ISDN infrastructure by 2025.

France Telecom offers ISDN services under their product name Numeris (2 B+D), of which a professional Duo and home Itoo version is available. ISDN is generally known as RNIS in France and has widespread availability. The introduction of ADSL is reducing ISDN use for data transfer and Internet access, although it is still common in more rural and outlying areas, and for applications such as business voice and point-of-sale terminals.

German stamp

In Germany, ISDN was very popular with an installed base of 25 million channels (29% of all subscriber lines in Germany as of 2003 and 20% of all ISDN channels worldwide). Due to the success of ISDN, the number of installed analog lines was decreasing. Deutsche Telekom (DTAG) offered both BRI and PRI. Competing phone companies often offered ISDN only and no analog lines. However, these operators generally offered free hardware that also allows the use of POTS equipment, such as NTBAs[lower-alpha 2] with integrated terminal adapters. Because of the widespread availability of ADSL services, ISDN was primarily used for voice and fax traffic.

Until 2007 ISDN (BRI) and ADSL/VDSL were often bundled on the same line, mainly because the combination of DSL with an analog line had no cost advantage over a combined ISDN-DSL line. This practice turned into an issue for the operators when vendors of ISDN technology stopped manufacturing it and spare parts became hard to come by. Since then phone companies started introducing cheaper xDSL-only products using VoIP for telephony,[27] also in an effort to reduce their costs by operating separate data & voice networks.

Since approximately 2010, most German operators are offering more and more VoIP on top of DSL lines and ceased offering ISDN lines. As from 2018 on, new ISDN lines are not available anymore in Germany, existing ISDN lines are phased out from 2016 onwards and existing customers are encouraged to move to DSL-based VoIP products. Deutsche Telekom expected to complete this phase-out by 2018[28] but postponed the date to 2020, other provides like Vodafone estimate to have their phase-out completed by 2022.

OTE, the incumbent telecommunications operator, offers ISDN BRI (BRA) services in Greece. Following the launch of ADSL in 2003, the importance of ISDN for data transfer began to decrease and is today limited to niche business applications with point-to-point requirements.

A study[29] of the German Department of Science shows the following spread of ISDN-channels per 1,000 inhabitants in the year 2005:

• Norway 401
• Denmark 339
• Germany 333
• Switzerland 331
• Japan 240
• United Kingdom 160
• Finland 160
• Sweden 135
• Italy 105
• France 85
• Spain 58
• United States 47

• ISDN User Part (ISUP)
• DSS1 (ETSI "Euro-ISDN", also used in many non-European countries)
• DSS2 (Digital Subscriber Signalling System No. 2)

• NI-1 (US National ISDN Phase 1)
• NI-2 (US National ISDN Phase 2)
• 4ESS (Lucent 4ESS specific protocol defined in AT&T TR 41459)

• INS-NET 64/1500 (Japanese national/NTT carrier-specific protocol)
• DACS used in the UK by British Telecom it uses non standard D channel signalling for pair gain

• QSIG
• Remote Operations Service Element protocol (ROSE)
• Q.931

• FTZ 1 TR 6 (obsolete German national protocol)

Specifications defining the physical layer and part of the data link layers of ISDN:

• ISDN BRI: ITU-T I.430.
• ISDN PRI: ITU-T I.431.

• CAPI
• ATM
• B-ISDN
• IpDTL
• H.320
• ETSI
• List of device bandwidths