why the heck is ISDN more espensive than DSL?

[mrzed]

Just something I have been curious about for a while. I understand that a seperate line has to be wired in, so perhaps my question would be better restated: What advantage does ISDN have over cheaper and faster DSL? Is it only a matter of DSL not being available in all locations, so some have to get the more expensive DSL?

Also wondering because my girlfriends workplace pays more for her ISDN than we do for our faster DSL. Considering it is a charity she works for, I'm thinking they may be better off switching.

 

[randal]

Most ISDN is pretty cheap ... here in colorado springs, CO, Qwest charges like $29 a month for the 2 lines, and then they charge $40 per month for a static IP, or you can go to your local ISP and get bandwidth from them.

Most places use ISDN because they can't get DSL, or because they don't want to wait 3 weeks to get the DSL. I know that here, Qwest will not install DSL onto a line where ISDN is active -- hence, it's either pay for a new, unused line for a month while waiting for the DSL install, or be down for 3 weeks :: both of which are usually unacceptable.

$.02
randal

 

[Nightfall]

ISDN is old technology. However, it is in place in most areas where broadband is not. ISDN has been around for a long time and I don't see it going away. As for why it is more expensive, it is because it is a totally clean digital line with two channels. Each channel having the ability to also be a phone line. I don't know more specifics than that though.

DSL is the wave of the future, but ISDN can do things that DSL can't and vise versa.