ISDN – integrated services digital network – is set to become a favored method of accessing the Internet and other online services in Europe – despite its long roll-out time and in the face of continued predictions from analysts that ISDN will ultimately be replaced by rival networking technologies such as ASDL asymmetric digital subscriber line. According to analysts from research company the Gartner Group, the number of ISDN subscribers in Europe will double from just over 3 million today to over 6 million by 1999. One of the main reasons why ISDN is now acceptable – apart from its increased coverage and lower prices – is that the use of ‘spoofing’ enables an ISDN line to be dropped and picked up in milliseconds when there is no real traffic.
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