ISDN Resources
3Com (USR)
3Com advertise an NTT INS Net64-compatible TA. Presumably, English manuals and software would be available. Apparently, unlike most other external TAs, this one actually supports 230 kbps DTE. It does not have a DSU built-in and only supports Windows PCs.
ADSL Forum (E)
Bricks Corporation
Bricks Corporation, a bilingual ISDN consulting company based in Tokyo, offers a free application and consulting service for those wishing to move over to ISDN. The Bricks site includes useful ISDN information and an advice section explaining how to reduce installation costs.
BUG (J) (E)
A Japanese manufacturer of various ISDN products under the Linkboy name, including TAs, ISDN routers, PCMCIA ISDN cards, and an interesting INS-Net 1500 NuBus card for Macs that supports data transfers at up to 1.5 Mbps!
CSS TimeLiner 64 (J)
A Japanese manufacturer of the TimeLiner 64 series of plug-in ISDN cards for Macintosh computers. A graph on their Web site shows the performance differences between external TAs and plug-in cards. According to CSS, 128 kbps data transfer with a plug-in TimeLiner card is almost twice as fast that with an external TA, with the TimeLiner pushing almost 16 kilobytes/second, and the external TA, just over 5 kilobytes/second. At 64 kbps the performance gap is reduced, with the TimeLiner card providing a maximum transfer rate of eight kilobytes/second, the external TA, six kilobytes/second.
Dan Kegel's ISDN Page (E)
Dan's ISDN page provides numerous links to ISDN-related Web sites around the world, including TA and plug-in card manufacturers, and is probably the most comprehensive collection of ISDN links on the Web. There's even a link to NTT's crusty English ISDN pages. Well worth a visit and an excellent starting point for ISDN explorations.
DirecPC (E)
Satellite Internet access developed by Hughes Network Systems in the United States, expected to commence services in Japan from July 1997.
Elmic (J) (E)
Japanese manufacturer of various ISDN products, including plug-in cards for Windows PCs running Windows 95 or Windows NT. Also a sketchy list of ISPs offering ISDN access.
John De Hoog (E)
Discover how John connects his home LAN to the Internet with NTT's OCN Economy service.
IDC (J) (E)
International ISDN services for business users, and currently offering ISDN connections to Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA.
IAC
IAC (Internet Access Center) in Tokyo have a light English site about ISDN in Japan, and, like Bricks, offer a free application and consulting service. They've even gone to the trouble of registering the domain "isdn.co.jp".
ISDN Mailing List
The ISDN mailing list is operated by the Tokyo PC Users Group.
ISDN Newsgroup (E)
ITJ (E)
International ISDN services for business users.
ITU-T
International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector.
KDD (J)
International ISDN services.
Richard Keirstead (E)
ISDN article for the Daily Yomiuri.
Microsoft's Get ISDN
ISDN information for Windows users.
OCN's ISDN Info Center (E)
Nothing about ISDN in Japan, but an interesting site all the same. They also have the ISDN FAQ created by Dave Cherkus and the comp.dcom.isdn newsgroup. (OCN is not associated with NTT's OCN network.)
OKI Tech (J)
Japanese manufacturer of the PCLINK series of TAs. The latest versions of the PCLINK Setup utility for Macintosh and Windows PC computers can be downloaded, and there's also an ARA (Apple Remote Access) script for remote ISDN logins. Screen shots showing how to configure PPP software for Macintosh and Windows PC computers are also provided.
NEC Aterm Station (J)
Japanese manufacturer of the popular Aterm Series of TAs.
Richard Sadowsky (E)
ISDN article for Kansai Time Out magazine March 1997.
RVS-COM
Windows 95/98/NT communications software that provides fax, telephony, file transfer, and answer phone services to ISDN TAs and routers.
Suntac (J)
Japanese modem and TA manufacturer, including the TS128GA2M TA with built-in 33.6 kbps fax/modem.
Telecom Mania (J)
Takayuki Hourin's comprehensive collection of links to domestic telecom equipment manufacturers.
Yahoo ISDN Links (E)
Yahoo Japan ISDN Page (J)
Yamaha ISDN Router (J)
ISDN router for computer networks.
NTT
NTT's Japanese-Speaking Operators
Dial 116.
NTT's Freedial Information Service in English
English-speaking operators are available to field questions and comments about NTT: Freedial 0120-364463, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
NTT's Automated English Service Guide
Information about NTT's services is provided in English 24-hours a day at freedial 0120-019-116. You can listen to the information over the telephone, or receive it via faxback. In the latter case it's best to call from the telephone on your fax machine. Available information includes starting a new telephone line, relocating a line, changing the subscriber's name, and temporarily discontinuing your telephone service. Information on NTT's money saving schemes, Tele-Jozu, Tele-Wise, Tele-Choice, and Tele-Hodai, is available. As yet, there is no information about ISDN services.
NTT's Automated Japanese Service Guide
The Japanese version of NTT's automated service guide offers the same documents as the English version and much more, including ISDN information and application forms. Freedial 0120-000-116.
NTT Local Offices
NTT's local offices can provide ISDN catalogs and application forms, and sales people are available to answer your ISDN questions.
Publications
Internet Magazine
In my opinion, Internet Magazine, published by Impress Corporation, is the pick of the crop when it comes to Japanese Internet magazines. IM runs to about 500 pages, the first 250 being ads, and features industry news, trends, new products, cool sites, interviews with Internet people (company-types and users), getting started articles for Net newbies, and technical articles that really get down to the nitty gritty. If you're looking for your first ISP, or considering a change, IM is the magazine for you. Each month features a fold-out map of Japan's ISPs, so you can see how fat each provider's wire really is. Comprehensive maps show who's providing what, where, and for how much. IM performs independent tests on ISPs to see which are over subscribed. They do this by ringing each provider every two hours for two weeks. Then they take the average and produce a graph showing the number of failed connections over a 24 hour period. Internet Magazine is published monthly, sells for ¥980, and includes a CD-ROM chock full of Internet software for Macs, Windows, and UNIX computers.
English Books
ISDN for Dummies, David Angell, IDG Books, 1995. ISBN 1-56884-331-3. Windows-centric, nothing on Japan, heavy on ISDN in the United States (recommend tachi-yomi).
Remote LAN Access: A guide for networkers and the rest of us, Jeffrey Neil Fritz, Manning Publications, 1996. ISBN 1-884777-25-2. Good ISDN coverage, nothing on Japan, but a good read for those trying to access the company LAN remotely.
ISDN: Concepts, Facilities, and Services, 2nd ed., Gary C. Kessler, McGraw Hill Computer Science Series, 1995. ISBN 0-07-113933-8. Protocols, architecture, modes, and signaling. Serious stuff for ISDN freaks.
Japanese Books
ISDN ni sureba--Internet ga haiyaku naru, Toda Satoru, Kanki-shuppan, 1996. ISBN 4-7612-5582-X.
ISDN Perfect Guide, Hishinuma Chiaki, Takahashi Shoten, 1996. ISBN 4-471-35301-4.
ISDN Super Bible, Katsunari Mizuno, ASCII Books, 1996. ISBN 4-7561-1657-4.
Check your computer bookstore for newer books containing the latest ISDN info.
<--Previous TOC Home Next--> Created: 16 May 1997. Modified: 3 March 1999.
Copyright (c) 1999 Paul Findon. All rights reserved.