ISDN telephone with an analog connection

I used to have an ISDN - DSL, but changed it to Analog DSL.

I have been told that, i cannot use the ISDN Telephone with Analog DSL Connection, therefore i need to buy a Analog Telephone apparatus for it.

Is it true ? or can i still use my ISDN Telephone with Analog Connection.

thanks

Why don't you believe what you have been told?

You could possibly use it if you had the right permit.

Defiinitively, 100%, indupitably, without doubt, there is no-way you can use an ISDN device on an analogue line, and there is no adapter or piece of electronics (at least not at a resonable price) to allow it to do so.

Ummm, the Fritz Box 7050 WLAN Router (the router I have at home) makes it possible to use an ISDN phone (the phone I have at home) with an analogue line (the line I have at home).

I have DSL from 1&1 over an analogue line from Deutsche Telekom. I have been using my ISDN phone without any problems. The router was part of the deal I got from 1&1, for something like 40 Euros if memory serves, but of course, this price shouldn't mean anything, since it was a special price for new customers.

@ memo: quite right, it can use both types.

But as the caveat from YL6 says, "at a reasonable price". On the open market, it costs 170-200 yoyos, so in this case it would be cheaper to get a new phone.

you can get an adaptor for an analog phone on an isdn line but not vice versa, i think. we had isdn installed in our previous house and was a pain in the arse when we converted to analog dsl.

Since "Analog Telephone apparatus" involves nothing more than an €8 telephone, I don't really see what the problem is here.

Have you actually simply tried plugging it in?

@Small Town Boy

Sure, that's why I mentioned it being a special price. But if pooja, or anyone else reading, is going to switch providers or something, it might be useful info...

You think correct. Hoever, even they are not cheap at €50-€60 (for a cheap one), but do have the advantage that they are cheaper than an ISDN phone and let you connect 2 or more phones with different numbers

Hi,

I have a few questions re: ISDN vs. analog telephone service which I'm hoping you experts can answer. I never had to deal with ISDN in the US, so I'm somewhat clueless about it.

First, some quick background. I currently have M-Net DSL/ISDN service (with an NTBA and splitter) and am considering renewing my contract for a faster internet speed. I actually don't have a phone (just the phone line) and use my mobile for all calls, but this is becoming a bit on the expensive side, so I am thinking I'll buy a landline to save on overall phone costs. Ok, now you know the background...

Now for the questions:

1. What are the cool telephone features that ISDN offers that are unavailable with analog?

2. If I keep my ISDN service with the new contract, there is a 2.90 Euro monthly charge for the ISDN. If I choose to "downgrade" to analog phone service, I will save the 2.90/month, but is it likely there will be another "change of service" charge I'll need to pay? If so, roughly how much?

3. If I want to have my three current ISDN phone numbers changed so they are not consecutive, will there likely be a charge? If so, roughly how much?

4. What actually defines having ISDN service? Is it simply having the NTBA box? Is there a concept of enabling ISDN on the telekom side to provide certain features? I suppose the actual phone lines for analog and ISDN are identical, because I don't think new wiring is necessary to switch between them. True?

5. From your experience, is the decision to stay with ISDN a no-brainer, or should I seriously consider switching to analog to save on the monthly cost (somewhat negligible) and the price of buying a phone (somewhat less negligible, but still won't break the bank)? Oddly, many phones that I've looked for online don't mentioned that they support ISDN. Do most people use analog?

Thanks a lot for answering as many questions as you can!! I really appreciate the input.
Cheers.

ISDN is now a legacy technology, advances in DSL technology and the ubiquity of internet protocols have made it unnecessary. A single analogue phone line will only support a single number.

Old techie joke:
ISDN = Innovation Subscribers Don't Need

ISDN continues to be a valuable and useful service, especially for small businesses and busy/larger homes, moreso in Germany where it is remarkably cheap compared to the analogue service.

The major advantage of ISDN over analogue is the ability to manage up to 10 numbers and that you have 2 channels available to you so you can make up to two calls simultaneously. That used to be useful in the old days pre-DSL as it meant you could surf (at the slightly higher speed of 64kb) on one channel and still have the other available to make/receive calls. If you connected both channels you would reach the heady internet speeds of 128Kb. DSL has now superceded all of this as not only do you have MUCH higher speeds, but your internet use does not affect the telephone line, be it analoige or ISDN.

To answer your questions:

1. Main advantage is multiple numbers (home, office, fax, kids, personal, etc) and the ability to make/receive parallel calls.
2. If you downgrade from ISDN to analogue you'll need to ditch the NTBA and any ISDN specific equipment (exchange or phone) you have, and will be restricted to one number. Depending on your house wiring you may need to re-wire slightly to converge multiple internal lines to a single one.
3. Few providers will change existing numbers without good reason (e.g. threatening calls). You might be able to add additional numbers which will may or may not be consecutive. Telekom provide up to 10 at no extra charge, I don't know about MNet. Most people actually want consecutive numbers!
4. see 1
5. Unless the €2.90 is a lot to you stay with what you have for the potential flexibility it provides, whether or not you use it.

YL6