Future Trends: Beyond the Modem

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The future is here for transmitting voice, video and data at a rocket-fast pace. Only here doesn�t necessarily mean in your neighborhood. With an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) connection, local digital telephone companies can transmit data at a rate from 64 kilobits per second (Kbps) up to 128 Kbps versus the 28Kbps and 33.6Kbps possible with regular modems. Imagine a race between a banana-seated bicycle and a Porsche. That�s the difference.

The only problem is that many cities don�t have ISDN available. Pan, at Clarity Connect, said, �ISDN is a little sporadic. It�s primarily available in metropolitan regions.�

It doesn�t hurt to ask if you can make an ISDN connection. Clarity Connect in a small central New York city has been offering ISDN connections for a year and a half. Remember, though, that your connection must talk at the same speed as your Internet Service Provider�s connection. Even if you can get ISDN, you won�t get a speedier connection unless your Internet Service Provider (ISP) also has ISDN lines.

The future hasn�t yet arrived for cable lines, but it won�t be long before the Internet becomes fast enough for TV-like video. With the passage of the telecommunications bill in February 1996, many cable television providers got the clue that the Internet is where it�s at. Right now, WebTV makes it possible for you to browse the Web through your television set, but you still connect through the phone lines. With test sites in progress, cable TV companies might change that. They are clocking Internet connection speeds at 10 Mbps speeds, and they are pushing to make their cable lines the answer to slow telephone connections.