Jan 03 12:28 2018, Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Henri Derksen:
MvdV> ISDN is as good as dead. Very few telecom providers still offer it. MvdV> New hardware is no longer available. Forget about ISDN. It is MvdV> (almost) history.
Yep, ISDN is being phased out. Telcos still offering ISDN can do so only as long as they have enough spares in storage. In exchange offices the old POTS/ISDN ports are replaced with FXS ports.
HD>> So I am glad to stay PSTN,
MvdV> I have already told you many, many years ago that you run the risk MvdV> of being left behind. Modem over POTS is technology on the way out. MvdV> New equipment is no longer manufactured and even the wells of MvdV> analog modems on marktplaats and other second hand sources have run MvdV> dry. Presently there is only one other node in Net 280 supporting MvdV> POTS and that is the Host. If he leaves Fidonet or even if MvdV> something in his POTS setup breaks, you are isolated from net 280. MvdV> I can not expect him to go through the cost and effort to maintain MvdV> a POTS setup forever just for you.
VoIP routers/PBXs got a few FXS ports for POTS telephones, fax maschines and modems. There are also ATAs providing FXS ports. With the proper settings a modem still works fine, but the maximum bps rate achievable is limited, maybe about 24k. ISDN over VoIP (RFC4040 "clear channel") is also available but quite rare, and even fewer telcos support it. Anyway, you can still support classic polls via modem, though it's yesterday's technology and doesn't make much sense any longer.
HD>> as I do not have the energy to change over to IP.
MvdV> You should have done that ten years ago when you still had the MvdV> energy.
IMHO it's easier to setup an IP mailer than a POTS mailer plus modem.
