Integrated network services

Although the name “Integrated Services Digital Network” implies that we are considering a network strategy which integrates the needs of various services, what we have been describing so far is a network which is a transparent end-to-end transport mechanism which operates independently of, and without regard for, the services provided over the network. This raises the question of what services can be supported by the available transport resource? In this chapter we look first of all at the range of services that can be supported using the conventional narrow-band ISDN. We shall then consider the possibilities for future services over the broadband ISDN.