Transitioning to an intelligent ISDN-based plant-a datacom perspective

Likely phases and time frames in a transition to an intelligent integrated-services-digital-network (ISDN)-based architecture are identified, as seen from a large commercial data network perspective. Issues discussed include technical and protocol matters, available services and geographic coverage, interworking and gatewaying with traditional data communication architectures (proprietary systems, LANs, etc.). Since all parties involved in ISDN/intelligent network deployment (carriers, manufacturers, and end users) must jointly address these issues, a preliminary assessment of the interworking of these three groups is offered.<>