BT Highway

Last updated

BT Highway was a UK retail ISDN2e service from British Telecom which was announced in November 1997 [1] and withdrawn in February 2007. [2] In the domestic market, it was sold as BT Home Highway and for small businesses, BT Business Highway. These names were used simply to differentiate billing schemes; the hardware for both services used the name BT Highway. Unlike regular ISDN2e service where only a digital S interface is provided BT Highway provided both digital and analogue connections simplifying migration from regular POTS service.

Contents

Notability in the UK Internet timeline

Due to ISDN's ability to establish connections in less than 3 seconds, compared to 30–60 seconds for a dial-up modem, BT Highway provided many people's [3] first experience of a near always-on Internet connection. The service also provided many people's [3] first experience of an Internet connection that ran faster than a dial-up modem (up to 128  kbit/s compared to 56 kbit/s, and with a latency of 75-150  ms compared to 150-300 ms). BT Highway was available five or more years before the availability of broadband, especially in rural areas [4] where ISDN was available over far longer distances, and far more telephone exchanges, than the initial roll-out of ADSL.

Details

BT Highway was provided as a wall-mounted panel that supplemented an analogue master socket. A blank faceplate was placed across the analogue master socket so that all connections had to be performed through the panel.

BT Highway was distinctive because, unlike most ISDN services, it was aimed at both home and small-business users, and incorporated both analogue sockets (coloured white) and ISDN sockets (coloured blue). It was possible to plug in both Cat5 ISDN equipment and traditional POTS analogue telephones at the same time into the same master panel; normally, an ISDN master panel provides only ISDN sockets. As with a standard ISDN2e service, it was possible to mix and match concurrent connections to provide two concurrent analogue phone calls, one analogue phone call and one ISDN 64 kbit/s call, two 64 kbit/s ISDN calls or one 128 kbit/s ISDN call. The analogue sockets were standard UK BS6312 sockets and included a ring capacitor.

Unlike an analogue master socket, BT Highway required external power from a mains electric adaptor. However, in the event of a power cut, the system still allowed analogue telephone calls to be made through the first analogue socket.

Connection to the Internet was typically performed either by a dedicated ISDN router or by an ISDN PCI card. Later versions of BT Highway provided a USB port which PCs could connect to; a driver CD was supplied and the device was seen as an ISDN modem by Windows. As with ISDN2e, most brands of device typically allowed the user to automatically connect and drop the second ISDN channel to switch between 64 kbit/s and 128 kbit/s, depending on whether one channel was already being used (for example, for a simultaneous analogue telephone call).

Three phone numbers were provided as standard: two for the analogue ports and one for use by ISDN equipment. Home highway users were limited to these while business highway users could order Multiple Subscriber Numbering to get more phone numbers for ISDN equipment. [5]

Introduction and withdrawal

BT Highway was announced in November 1997 [1] and introduced on an exchange-by-exchange basis starting in September 1998. [6] BT stopped selling new services on 5 September 2005 and stopped providing BT Highway services altogether in February 2007, [2] encouraging users to migrate to ADSL. Where migration to ADSL was not possible, BT continued to sell their ISDN2e service for business customers only.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ISDN</span> Set of communication standards

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. Work on the standard began in 1980 at Bell Labs and was formally standardized in 1988 in the CCITT "Red Book". By the time the standard was released, newer networking systems with much greater speeds were available, and ISDN saw relatively little uptake in the wider market. One estimate suggests ISDN use peaked at a worldwide total of 25 million subscribers at a time when 1.3 billion analog lines were in use. ISDN has largely been replaced with digital subscriber line (DSL) systems of much higher performance.

Telecommunications in Uruguay includes radio, television, telephones, and the Internet.

In telecommunications, a customer-premises equipment or customer-provided equipment (CPE) is any terminal and associated equipment located at a subscriber's premises and connected with a carrier's telecommunication circuit at the demarcation point ("demarc"). The demarc is a point established in a building or complex to separate customer equipment from the equipment located in either the distribution infrastructure or central office of the communications service provider.

Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), the most commonly installed DSL technology, for Internet access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dial-up Internet access</span> Online access over the telephone

Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telephone line. Dial-up connections use modems to decode audio signals into data to send to a router or computer, and to encode signals from the latter two devices to send to another modem at the ISP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DSLAM</span> Network device that connects DSL interfaces to a digital communications channel

A digital subscriber line access multiplexer is a network device, often located in telephone exchanges, that connects multiple customer digital subscriber line (DSL) interfaces to a high-speed digital communications channel using multiplexing techniques. Its cable internet (DOCSIS) counterpart is the cable modem termination system.

ISDN Digital Subscriber Line (IDSL) uses ISDN-based digital subscriber line technology to provide a data communication channel across existing copper telephone lines at a rate of 144 kbit/s, slightly higher than a bonded dual channel ISDN connection at 128 kbit/s. The digital transmission bypasses the telephone company's central office equipment that handles analogue signals. IDSL uses the ISDN grade loop without Basic Rate Interface in ISDN transmission mode. The benefits of IDSL over ISDN are that IDSL provides always-on connections and transmits data via a data network rather than the carrier's voice network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet access</span> Individual connection to the Internet

Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is offered for sale by an international hierarchy of Internet service providers (ISPs) using various networking technologies. At the retail level, many organizations, including municipal entities, also provide cost-free access to the general public.

Packet Switch Stream (PSS) was a public data network in the United Kingdom, provided by British Telecommunications (BT). It operated from the late 1970s through to the mid 2000s.

A leased line is a private telecommunications circuit between two or more locations provided according to a commercial contract. It is sometimes also known as a private circuit, and as a data line in the UK. Typically, leased lines are used by businesses to connect geographically distant offices.

A naked DSL, also known as standalone or dry loop DSL, is a digital subscriber line (DSL) without a PSTN service — or the associated dial tone. In other words, only a standalone DSL Internet service is provided on the local loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital access carrier system</span>

Digital access carrier system (DACS) is the name used by British Telecom in the United Kingdom for a 0+2 pair gain system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DSL modem</span> Type of computer network modem; network equipment

A digital subscriber line (DSL) modem is a device used to connect a computer or router to a telephone line which provides the digital subscriber line (DSL) service for connection to the Internet, which is often called DSL broadband. The modem connects to a single computer or router, through an Ethernet port, USB port, or is installed in a computer PCI slot.

The BT Versatility is a telephone PBX switchboard sold by BT and targeted at small businesses. It is manufactured by Taratel Communications previously Lake Communications in Ireland as the OfficeLink. In South Africa it was sold by Tellumat as the Convergence 30 or C30, in Australia it was sold as the Commander Connect, in the USA it was sold by Inter-tel as the Encore CX and by Mitel as the Mitel 3000

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BT Smart Hub</span> Family of wireless residential gateway router modems distributed by BT

The BT Smart Hub is a family of wireless residential gateway router modems distributed by BT for use with their own products and services and those of wholesale resellers but not with other Internet services. Since v 5 Home/Smart Hubs support the faster Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard, in addition to the 802.11b/g/n standards. All models of the Home Hub prior to Home Hub 3 support VoIP Internet telephony via BT's Broadband Talk service, and are compatible with DECT telephone handsets. Since the Home Hub 4, all models have been dual band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the Internet in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has been involved with the Internet throughout its origins and development. The telecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom provides Internet access to homes and businesses mainly through fibre, cable, mobile and fixed wireless networks, with the UK's 140-year-old copper network, maintained by Openreach, set to be withdrawn by December 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British telephone socket</span> Type of telephone socket design

British telephone sockets were introduced in their current plug and socket form on 19 November 1981 by British Telecom to allow subscribers to connect their own telephones. The connectors are specified in British Standard BS 6312. Electrical characteristics of the telephone interface are specified by individual network operators, e.g. in British Telecom's SIN 351. Electrical characteristics required of British telephones used to be specified in BS 6305.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modem</span> Device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information

A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more carrier wave signals to encode digital information, while the receiver demodulates the signal to recreate the original digital information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded reliably. Modems can be used with almost any means of transmitting analog signals, from light-emitting diodes to radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile broadband modem</span> Modem providing Internet access via a wireless connection

A mobile broadband modem, also known as wireless modem or cellular modem, is a type of modem that allows a personal computer or a router to receive wireless Internet access via a mobile broadband connection instead of using telephone or cable television lines. A mobile Internet user can connect using a wireless modem to a wireless Internet Service Provider (ISP) to get Internet access.

As in many other countries, the United Kingdom is retiring its part of the global circuit-switched public switched telephone network.

References

  1. 1 2 Barrie, Chris (8 November 1997). "BT heralds new high-speed Internet surfing at drop in the ocean cost". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "When and why did BT withdraw Home Highway?" . Retrieved 13 June 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "Ciao! Reviews of BT Home Highway". Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  4. ↑ "Sir George Young MP calls for "Broadband Access for All"". 17 January 2002. Archived from the original on 6 September 2002.
  5. ↑ "Beginner's Guide to ISDN". Archived from the original on 19 June 2000.
  6. ↑ "BT service promises ISDN speed over phone lines". ZDNet. 21 August 1998. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.