Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: claris!netcom!mcmahan@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Dave Mc Mahan) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Data Lines vs. Voice Lines Message-ID: <12818@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 29 Sep 90 20:08:46 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: Dave McMahan @ NetCom Services Lines: 39 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 697, Message 4 of 12 In a previous article, Ken Abrams writes: >In article <12490@accuvax.nwu.edu> stox@balr.com (Ken Stox) writes: >> 2) Once digitized at the C.O., the digital data from your >>phone call is blocked into packets of data which are routed through >>the phone network. >This has been explained in some detail in earlier posts but I think a >quick recap is in order. While what Mr. Stox says might be true (to >some degree) sometime in the not too distant future, it is NOT true >today. As far as I know, there are no telco owned switches in service >today that use packet switching for voice. At the present time, a >path through a digital switch used for voice grade communications is >not pre-emptable. Time division multiplexing is NOT the same as >packet switching. A voice grade call gets a "full time" channel >regardless of what is transported, voice, data or even silence. There is a company in Campbell, CA called StrataCom that I believe makes a packet switched voice network that is meant to run over a T1 line. I think they have had a product available for several years, but I'm not sure if any telco offices own it. They use all the standard tricks of not sending silence and re-generating a small amount of white noise for a listener so that he is pschycologically fooled into believing that he has a 100% connection. I think they are also offering products that let users insert data channels as well as voice into the T1 backbone. My phone book lists them as : Stratacom 3175 S. Winchester Bl. Campbell, CA 95130 (I think this is the right zip code, but am not sure) (408) 370-2333 dave