Telekom relies on IP technology: ISDN before the final Off – Business Week

ISDN and analogue connections are faced with disaster: The German Telekom intends to convert all fixed lines on the IP technology by the year 2018. The advantages and disadvantages for customers at a glance.

20 million fixed-network lines manages the German Telekom in Germany – but the end is near. Benefits far only around three million customers IP-based connection, to 2018 all connections to be converted to the technology, according to several media reports. IP stands for Internet Protocol, it is a communication protocol for data. In telephony, it is called Voice over IP (VoIP).

benefits for telecom are clear: they save money because they no longer need to maintain multiple networks. In addition, the IP connections are a prerequisite for the VDSL vectoring, with the Deutsche Telekom wants to offer VDSL connections with download speeds of up to 100 Mbit per second from the second half of the year.

And the benefits for clients ? You get through an IP connection, two phone lines and three numbers. This is particularly interesting for customers who still have an analog connection and for the ISDN extra cost is not worth it. Functions such as call barring come free with the IP connection.

However, the IP technology also brings disadvantages for consumers with itself. If a power failure you can no longer phone calls. In simple phones in such a case, sufficient power via the telephone network. In the IP-based telephony, however, nothing goes without a router, the constant supply of power – a further disadvantage. Order by phone to be reachable, the router must run permanently. DSL router without a phone function you can turn on the other hand, if you do not use the Internet; for example at night.

Also, who still uses an old rotary phone, it must then replace it. It works on the analog pulse dialing, support the modern routers as well as not more. The devices must be so from 2018 forcibly retired.