Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!ox.com!ox.com!emv From: emv@ox.com (Ed Vielmetti) Subject: Re: Access to the electronic frontier: ISDN In-Reply-To: cliff@garnet.berkeley.edu's message of 18 Mar 91 23:56:12 GMT Message-ID: Sender: usenet@ox.com (Usenet News Administrator) Organization: OTA Limited Partnership, Ann Arbor MI. References: <9508@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> <1991Mar12.065735.11507@vpnet.chi.il.us> <9928@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> <1991Mar18.235612.16233@agate.berkeley.edu> Date: 18 Mar 91 20:44:57 In article <1991Mar18.235612.16233@agate.berkeley.edu> cliff@garnet.berkeley.edu (Cliff Frost) writes: But I don't think six times faster is really true now, what with V.32bis/ V.42bis modems hitting the market for less than $400 each. Suppose you can get 38.4Kb/s with a $300 modem over voice grade lines, would you still be so anxious for ISDN (with its $200 install and $1,500 Terminal Adaptor)? can you keep that v.32 line nailed up the whole day to someone who will give you a reasonably priced internet connection? figuring that you're going to be paying someone else $100-$300/mo for the right to pass packets across the internet, the ISDN $200 install doesn't look too bad. the $1500 terminal adapter, on the other hand, ugh, esp if the concentrator on the regional network's end is similarly expensive. I'm used to working in a large network, so I don't really know what your concerns are, but I'd guess that the major problem facing small business folks is network management rather than throughput. speaking (sorta kinda) from a small business standpoint, the major problem is finding someone who you can get connected to without making a huge up-front investment in equipment and administrivia. network management is tertiary; at the beginning, it doesn't matter if it's slow or even slightly unreliable, as long as it's there. if the links can be shown to be worth it, the extra money can be found to pay for reliability, but people are willing to go through some non-trivial amount of personal hassle to get it off the ground. -- Msen Edward Vielmetti /|--- moderator, comp.archives emv@msen.com