What will xDSL do to ISDN?
That all depends upon the telephone companies offering both services. The two services are not the same — ISDN provides two voice channels or a 128 Kbps data channel while xDSL is predominantly a data pipe providing an asymmetrical bandwidth of up to 8 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream under good conditions. However, an xDSL access network will be an overlay network and therefore will not require the expensive and time-consuming switch upgrades that held ISDN back for so long. If xDSL service prices resemble ISDN service prices, then one would expect xDSL to be favored for Internet and video applications.
