ISDN services can be carried over existing telephone network infrastructure to terminal adapters (TAs) in the client machine. A common ISDN interface standard has a digital communications line consisting of three independent channels: two Bearer (B) channels, each at 64Kbit/s, and one Data (D) channel at 16Kbit/s. The D channel is used to carry signalling and supervisory information to the network, while the B channels carry the data and can be linked to provide a 128Kbits data channel.
Wireless connections
The wireless alternatives come in two forms: satellite and cellular. Satellite systems require the use of a modem to maintain the upload. Downstream bandwidth is provided via a dedicated satellite dish, connector hardware and proprietary software.
Cellular systems use assigned radio frequencies and are based around a network of transmitters that are arranged 25 in a cellular network, much like cellular mobile phone systems.
The cable alternative
Cable companies can also offer affordable broadband services over copper coaxial or fibre infrastructure networks. The connection is shared by several customers on a branch, so actual connection rates are variable, unlike ISDN and DSL.