64k ISDN any good?

[superman22x]

Hi,
We have old dial-up and its no good for downloads, searching the web, etc..., Basically there is nothing good about it at all. Also when you want to use the phone you have to disconnect the internet. The only available high-speed is hughsnet which is toooooooo expensive and not very good from what I hear.

So, on to my question, If I get a 64k ISDN line do I need to dial-up to the internet? Or is it at least a seperate line, or do I need to pay phone service for the line it is connected too? Be cause I want an always on connection without having to pay $30 a month for phone service on that line. Is there anyway I can get an always on type of line for less than like $20 a month. We have two phone lines connected to our house but only one is acctivated right now.

Thanks!!

(I hope this is the right section for this!!)

 

[borat_sagdiyev]

well i dont really have a prob with dial up except for downloads. my friend has dial up and its not that bad...

 

[mammikoura]

I'm pretty sure that with ISDN u need to dial-up, but u can use the phone while online. But I wouldn't get anything else than dsl or cable, that ISDN is still going to suck for downloads. And u can probably find a cheap 512/512 dsl connection for like $20/month.

 

[superman22x]

I have looked everywhere for dsl or cable but none are available, even wireless broadband isnt available here. I can use the phone while online with ISDN? Thats what I really want. Our average speed with dial-up is 32kbs-40kbs. Do you guys get any better?

 

[DJ-CHRIS1]

ISDN is usually 2X 64kbps lines, one of these lines typically runs internet and one typically runs phone. Yes, you need to dial in for ISDN but you can run it constant. ISDN takes a second or two to dial in unlike 30 seconds for dialup.

ISDN will guartnee you 64 or 128 kbps so it is a worthwhile upgrade if you have the money.

EDIT: ISDN will likely be far far over $20 a month, i would expect to pay over 100.

 

[superman22x]

I think there are 2 forms of ISDN if I'm not mistaken, 64k and 128k. We would probably get the 64k but maybe 128k. Do we need to pay for phone service for the line it runs on? Or does it run on the same line as the phone, but you can still use the phone.