VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[CarynClark]

I recently had to have my ISDN lines moved to my new place. The experience, I'm happy to say, wasn't that bad.

I love talking the the tech guys when they come, and so I picked Carl's brain about ISDN. It so happens Carl usually works on business ISDN accounts for the phone company. I thought, "Hmmmm... that must be all 10 radio stations in our area, and the few vo talent in Fort Myers?"

But I was mistaken!! I learned (and maybe you already know this but I didn't) that every single bank needs an ISDN line to transmit their data to where ever it is they transmit date to each day (my guess is their corporate office). Apparently, it is the only secure way to transit such sensitive information.

Also, he was telling me that he's set up ISDN lines for radio remotes that only lasted a couple of hours. And there's a radio guy that comes to visit his parents on Sanibel each year, and he has ISDN set up at their place just for the week, every year. I thought that was funny!!

I don't know about you, but given the info about banks, I think ISDN might be around for a while.
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Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

[schrecster]

I would agree with you on ISDN sticking around some. I have way to many years experience, 22 to be exact, working for one telecom or another and I have been working with ISDN lines it seems like forever. Most of my work is done on the trunk level, usually 23-B, 1-D setup. In some applications VOIP trunks are being used instead of ISDN trunks, but my company still installs a fair amount of ISDN trunks as well. one day it will be replaced by a cheaper VOIP application that could be used by a voiceoverist as theyare called on this site. until IP becomes more reliable though, ISDN will be around.

If you ever want to pick a telecom tech guys brain, feel free to ask me questions.

[Frank F]

Whether ISDN will be a viable solution for talent in the future is not debatable - it has, does, will work as designed. The limitation is on the Telco level NOT supporting the service at the small town or rural level.

With the advent of fiber trunking for IP (internet) and the increased availability of broadband internet in areas not served by ISDN; the answer of longevity is obvious. The network of ISDN is rapidly becoming null.

Fiber optic, WW3, VPN's, better QOS (Quality Of Service; i.e.: reliability). and better encryption are forcing Telco's to re-think holding on to obtuse assets - such as ISDN; in favor of a more robust well deployed IP technology.

VOIP for VO talent is one answer and with increased bandwidth the mechanics of real-time, high quality, duplex voice overs in .aiff or .wav coding is already a reality in many metropolitan areas of the USA. A service I am familiar with already is able to communicate with raw .wav files and the software is currently being used in more than 300 radio stations across the country as an alternative to ISDN for remotes, on-air shows, sports, and more. No, I am not speaking about Source Elements.

Will ISDN at residential locations go away soon? This is a good question. I suggest the downturn is already upon the industry. When will the ISDN service go away as a secure data link for such entities as banks? Another good question which when observing the science from my standpoint, I believe the demise is imminent. Only those holding on to old equipment and products for the sake of depreciating the value over a longer period of time are the holdouts today.

Enough pontificating... I enjoyed your observations Caryn and I hope the information Carl shared with you is more correct than my view.

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[Mike Harrison]

Caryn, I'm so glad for you that your ISDN move was painless and uneventful. Relieved, actually.

I recently had my ISDN service moved, too. But it was an experience I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (OK, maybe I would).

Two things contributed to the travesty. One, the telco is Verizon; and two, the ISDN service at my previous address was a residential account. And, as Verizon was no longer offering residential ISDN, my account had to be changed to a business account. And this factor is what caused Verizon to fall apart at the seams.

When I first began planning my move exactly a year ago (May 2009), the first thing I did was to call Verizon to make sure ISDN would be available at my new location. It was then I was told that Verizon was no longer offering residential service. (ISDN was originally made available to the public in the 90s for internet access. But when broadband became available, the residential ISDN customer base began to shrink.) After running the required loop qualification test in early June 2009, Verizon confirmed that ISDN was available at my proposed new location.

I then discovered I wasn't able to break my current lease, so my move would be postponed to the end of February 2010. But I was satisfied the potentially biggest hurdle (ISDN) was cleared. But it was not to be.

In early February, thinking all I had to do was have Verizon put the ball in play again, I contacted the person with whom I had communicated back in June 2009 and was told I needed to speak with a different department now. And, the first thing I told this new person was that my residential account needed to be changed to a business account. No problem, I was told. Famous last words.

I don't know what kind of training Verizon gives their account managers and customer support agents, but I learned that every time someone encounters the slightest problem, they don't call the customer or ask for help from another agent. They just stop. Everything. Despite my having made the residential/business change clear at the onset of each conversation, each time the reps discovered it for themselves, they just dropped the ball and walked away. It wasn't until I would wonder what progress was being made and placed another call that I would be sent to yet another rep and made to explain my needs over... and over... and over each time. And at some point during this time, it was determined that another loop qualification test needed to be done. The one thing they got right initially, they felt a need to repeat. Maybe it was a confidence-builder.

On February 26, the last business day before my ISDN service was hoped to be online at my new location - only 15 minutes from my current location - I managed to get a department head on the phone, who conferenced-in a business account rep and a residential account rep, at which time he explained to both of them that my existing residential ISDN was to be terminated and a new business account established. At the same time, my POTS voice line (which didn't have to be changed at all) was to be simply 'ported over' to my new address.

On Tuesday, March 2, I moved into my new place, and found my POTS line working. Huzzah! One in a row! Alas, however, no sign of the Verizon installer for ISDN. Not that day. Or the day after... or the day after that.

I had notified all my clients well in advance of the move that there was the possibility of perhaps a day or two of downtime as I got my new studio set up and online. MY ISDN clients were advised of the potential of a slightly extended delay. My long history with Verizon made me very wise.

Remember that conference call of February 26, between the Verizon Business department head and the residential and business account people and myself? Would you have thought that the order for my new ISDN service would have been placed at that time? Nah. What are you smoking? On Tuesday, March 9, I received an email stating that the order had just been placed that morning. I had been in my new place for a week, and I had already lost two ISDN jobs.

The following Thursday, March 18, I received an email from Verizon stating yet a THIRD loop qualification test needed to be run. The folks in the 'Implementation' department must've become bored waiting for something to do.

My ISDN service was finally installed on Monday, March 22 - by a very capable, efficient and personable technician - but not before I lost a third ISDN job. Between May 2009 and February 2010, Verizon had all the information they needed to complete this simple task; a task they continually proved themselves incapable of carrying out.

Because it's used by so many entities like film studios, post-production houses, broadcasters and us voice-over people, I think ISDN will be around for a while yet. But...

If Verizon is your telco and you currently have ISDN, guard it with your life. And, for heaven's sake, don't plan a move if you intend to keep ISDN.

We could win any war by sending Verizon over to first annoy the living daylights out of our enemies before driving them to the point of suicide. It's a little thing they like to call 'Customer Service.'

Oh, Nurse... I'm ready for my pill now.
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

[JTVG]

So are you saying that every bank in America currently has an ISDN line hooked up to it?
_________________
Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com

[CarynClark]

Mike, what a story!!

Joe, from what I understood from the tech guy, I would guess so. Like I said, he usually only works on the business accounts and he's been doing it since ISDN started. When he said he worked on business accounts, I asked him who else uses ISDN? And that's when he told me, "Every single bank has an ISDN line to transmit their data each night."
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

[Frank F]

Not ALL banks. Those in rural or small towns usually are not close enough to the switch to make a connection. ISDN is good for about two miles from a switch (sometimes called a hub) but no further.

My Sister lives in a little town in Idaho, their bank uses a dialup line to send the data - including each transaction from the ATM.

Frank F
_________________
Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[JTVG]

Yeah, the one in my little hometown made dial-up sounds too, but I wasn't sure if that was just a fancy way of connecting to the ISDN line. Either way, interesting.
_________________
Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com

[Lee Gordon]

Mike, if you have not already done so, you need to mail a copy of that story to the president of Verizon and a copy to the chairman of the state Public Utilities Commission.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[Mike Harrison]

[melissa eX]

Like Mike, I'm in NJ and it's Verizon for me too - but my install was relatively painless.

I contacted someone whose number I had gotten a couple of years ago - yes things were different now in that business and residential are 2 completely different entities - and there is NO communication between the two. She (in the business area) couldn't even pull up my residential account.

I have a phone/tv/internet FIOS account - but I also have a second line (fax etc.) on copper - and made sure it stayed on copper when I opted for FIOS. I didn't want to switch that line to business for ISDN. A decision she applauded as - see above - there is NO communication between residential and business - (THAT's what shut you down, Mike - VZ deliberately segments their depts. like that) So I had them install a new business line. From the day the order went in to the install was less than 10 days. The installer was the same guy who installed my FIOS a year earlier and one of just two people in this part of NJ who do ISDN. It went super smoothly, everything worked and the only problem I'm having is billing.

First they mistakenly put me on the wrong long distance company. Not a real issue as I always double check things and caught it. An easy fix. But it was impossible to get someone to tell me anything about costs for the MCI LD. If you call MCI they tell you they can't tell you anything because they now belong to Verizon. But when you call VZ they tell you MCI is still a separate company and you have to deal with them. So I had to wait until I got a welcome letter from MCI with a phone number I hadn't had before to reach anyone who knew anything. They fixed it and credited me for the calls I had made at the ridiculous 'no plan' rate when I was testing. They actually have a really low minimum if you don't really make outbound calls.

The issue I'm having now is the first bill from VZ was really really high. It took forever to reach someone about it because the number on the bill connects you to the business office billing center - and they know nothing about ISDN - there's a surprise. I finally got the number of the dept. that deals with ISDN billing and they found I had been put on a regional LD unlimited plan for some reason. So they credited all of that - supposedly. I just got the new bill yesterday and it's still off some - so I'm waiting for an answer to the email I sent last night. I have the direct phone #'s and emails of all of the knowledgeable people I've dealt with and I've found them all to be pretty responsive.

The trick of course is getting to the right people - as Mike pointed out. I was lucky in having an old contact number that was still current. And my installation went virtually flawlessly - which I attribute to the "what to tell your phone company" chapter in the Telos manual, the wonderful instructions on Dave Immer's site and the installer who really knew his stuff, was incredibly helpful, answered all of my questions, double and triple checked everything, gave me tips and was just an all around really great guy. They should pay him 20 times whatever he's getting now and take the money out of the paycheck of whoever decided to take the "communication" out of the internal communications of the company by separating the departments to such a degree the left pinky finger doesn't know what the left index finger is doing - never mind hands.

[Lee Gordon]

[ConnieTerwilliger]

I was able to switch from business to residential ISDN a couple of years ago and then suddenly a long distance charge started to appear on the bill. There were two customer service numbers - one for the basic ISDN lines and one for the LD. AT&T and the other AT&T.

It took about a year of back and forth calls - with the charge being deleted, refunded, appearing again - rinse - repeat - before (I THINK) it has been resolved.

I actually have my LD charges (if any!) appear on a separate bill from yet a THIRD AT&T.

The last time the $8.95 charge appeared after a 3-day round of calls to remove it, it was discovered that only ONE of the paired lines had been removed. That took some sleuthing!!!
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Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[anthonyVO]

I pay EDNet for my ISDN. Although it's technically Verizon equipment, EDNet acts like a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) and so they have their system/contacts for getting things done otherwise, since deregulation, if Verizon doesn't respond in a timely matter it can become an antitrust and BPU (Board of Public Utilities) issue.

It costs me an extra $600 a year, but they're available to me 24 hours and I only ever speak to EDNet for issues and they get "magically" resolved. No hold time or being shuffled through the Verizon maze.

Just a thought. How much is your time worth?

-Anthony

[Mike Harrison]