AO/DI ISDN - Pacific Bell annouces support for AO/DI and X.25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 16, 1997
"Always On" ISDN E-Mail And "Push Technology" Open Connection Now A
Reality For Telecommuters
ISDN Technology leaders line up in support of D-Channel Breakthrough,
Pacific Bell to demonstrate technology at ISDN World
[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Always On" Pacific Bell/Jetstream D-Channel demos will
be on display June 19 & 20 at the Pacific Bell ISDN World booth (#124)]
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Pacific Bell, Southwestern Bell, BellSouth and The
Vendors' ISDN Association, Inc. (VIA), today announced a telecommuter
breakthrough, D-Channel "Always On/DYNAMIC ISDN" (AO/DI), an Internet
and Intranet connection that facilitates real-time exchange of e-mail
and delivery of push services using a "Virtual Connection". "Always On"
is currently going through Beta testing and is in various stages of
development by VIA members and other service providers.
Building upon the feature rich ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) service, which permits simultaneous voice, data, video and
E-mail on a single ISDN connection, D-Channel "Always On" offers a
cost-effective way of maintaining a real-time link without having a
"dial-up" connection to the corporate network or ISP.
"Always On" is targeted at telecommuters, remote workers and independent
professionals that need to be "continuously connected" to the Internet
or LAN so they can exchange E-mail and data. This technology opens up a
new delivery avenue for information providers who need to constantly
update a client with the latest stock quote or news headlines. It also
fosters new meeting forums such as virtual on-line conferences.
How it Works
"Always On" uses the packet data capability that is an integral part of
the ISDN international standard. Over the "D" (signaling) channel of the
ISDN line, the user establishes a packet connection to a remote LAN or
an Internet Service Provider. This bi-directional connection is created
by a user when he logs on to his work-at-home computer and e-mail
package. Once the connection is established, the user is on-line and can
exchange packets with the remote network as required -- to send and
receive e-mail, for example.
When there is more information to transfer than can be handled by the 16
Kbps packet connection, a circuit-switched connection (telephone call)
is placed using one or both of the ISDN "B" channels. This connection
can be made automatically and without user intervention, and permits
data to move at speeds up to 128 Kbps (512 Kbps with compression). Once
the data transfer is complete, the circuit-switched connection is
dropped and the user remains on-line via the D-Channel. For example,
when a user receives an E-mail message with a lengthy file attachment,
the initial notification of the E-mail will come via the D-Channel. To
transfer the large attached file, a B-channel connection is initiated
automatically. When the file transfer is complete, the B-channel call
ends.
"This technology breakthrough is extremely hot and truly highlights the
flexibility provided by ISDN," said Tom Bayless, director switched
digital services for Pacific Bell. "This new capability provides remote
workers all of the same advantages that a main office PC provides --
advanced voice capability, fax, high speed data and automatic e-mail
notification.
"Network managers will also appreciate this approach since telecommuters
will only be connected while e-mail is being exchanged," added John
Flower, director of data transport for Southwestern Bell.
This initiative is supported by Pacific Bell, Southwestern Bell and
BellSouth. Seventeen members of VIA - 3Com, ADTRAN, Ascend
Communications, Bay Networks, BinTec Communications, Cisco Systems,
Eicon Technology, Intel, ITK Telecommunications, Jetstream
Communications, Motorola, Shiva, Telenetworks, TELES, U.S. Robotics,
Virtual Access, and ZyXEL have committed to providing support for AO/DI.
VIA members will work with the North American ISDN Users' Forum's (NIUF)
newly-formed AO/DI Ad Hoc Group and with the National ISDN Council (NIC)
to advance the implementation process for "Always On" applications.
"D Channel 'Always On' is a key enabler for ISDN. This enhancement to
the service has the potential to solve in large part two issues: 1) ISDN
usage fees and 2) Congestion of the local network. D-channel Always On
will provide the end user full time connectivity for e-mail and push
technologies similar to what they receive in the office at a potentially
lower cost basis. Capabilities such as this will reinforce ISDN's long
term position in the mass data services market," said Brett Azuma,
director and principal analyst, Dataquest.
"VIA proposed 'Always On' as a win/win/win scenario for the end user,
the service provider, and CPE vendors last September," said Deepak
Kamlani, executive director of VIA. "As a group we are excited about
seeing AO/DI come to fruition so quickly and applaud the work of all the
stake holders who are making this possible. With its rollout we believe
we will have helped solve a key issue for telecommuters and others who
rely on e-mail and remote access to corporate networks to do their
business. We look forward to helping deploy AO/DI for similar
applications, like news feeds, credit card verification and other low
bandwidth applications."
Availability of ISDN in Participating Regions
ISDN is now available in 97% of California and virtually 100% of Texas,
Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas. More than 85% of Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Florida and Kentucky regions are also covered.
D Channel "Always On" is currently going through CPE testing using the
Pacific Bell network and is in various stages of development by VIA
members. VIA members anticipate that equipment will be available in Q4
1997.
About the Vendors ISDN Association
VIA is a non-profit California-based corporation dedicated to enhancing,
simplifying and making ISDN more accessible to businesses and individual
users. VIA's members represent 25 corporations from 4 countries and
include 3Com, ADTRAN, Ascend Communications, AT&T, Bay Networks, BinTec
Communications GmbH, Cisco Systems, Digi International, Eicon
Technology, Hermstedt GmbH, Intel, ITK Telecommunications, Jetstream
Communications, Microsoft, Motorola, Rockwell International, SAGEM,
Shiva, SMC, Telenetworks, TELES, U.S. Robotics, VideoServer, Virtual
Access, and ZyXEL Communications. Additional information on VIA
initiatives, members, and upcoming events is available at
www.via-isdn.org .
About Pacific Bell and Southwestern Bell
Pacific Bell and Southwestern Bell are companies of SBC Communications
Inc., an international leader in the telecommunications industry, with
more than 31 million access lines and 4.7 million wireless customers
across the United States, as well as investments in telecommunications
businesses in nine countries. Under the Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell,
Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, the company, through its
subsidiaries, offers a wide range of innovative services, including
local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications,
paging, Internet access, cable TV and messaging, as well as
telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing.
SBC ( www.sbc.com ) has approximately 110,000 employees. SBC and Pacific
Telesis Group reported combined 1996 revenues of $23.5 billion.
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