INTEGRATED services digital network (ISND) system provider Deutsche Telekom - one of the participants at the Asian IT Expo '94 - Telekom has experienced an unprecedented increase in ISDN subscriptions of more than 100 per cent per annum in Germany. Last year, the ISDN service generated about US$1.5 billion from about 1.2 million B-channel connections. Each ISDN B-channel is a transmission path for data at a speed of 64 kilobits per second and can be used for normal telephone conversation, data transmission, or video signals. With the ISDN, different types of applications can easily be integrated; for example, for voice communications, for connecting together two different Local Area Networks (LAN) with different types of hardware and software, or for video conferencing. A number of ISDN B-channels can easily be aggregated to produce a wider transmission path for applications. Users only need to pay for the transmission capacity used. ISDN applications can be classified into three broad categories:general office communication,applications that exploit the benefits of multi-media and applications that connect computer networks together. The potential for ISDN service in Asia is enormous. Malaysia, Taiwan and Korea will soon be added to the list of countries offering ISDN service. Currently in Asia, ISDN service is available in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. With countries in Asia building up their ISDN infrastructure and ISDN applications becoming readily available, the growth for ISDN service will take a similar course to that in Germany. Therefore, business and residential users can look forward to a range of ISDN applications to make communications in the work place and at home easier.
