The cooler heads were right…..back then.
Years ago, when I began blogging of the impending death of ISDN, there were plenty of people around to tell me the end of that technology was still far away.
They were right, and I was right. It WAS the beginning of the end several years ago. But any entrenched technology always dies a slow death. Look at network TV for instance. 
In the interim, I’ve been noting on the pages of this blog, the incremental diminishing of ISDN technology in the USA (Europe is different, but not impervious, either). A couple of years ago, many subscribers in the “flyover” states started noticing install, activation, and monthly subscriber rates going up.
Then at least one major TelCom issued an announcement that they would cease all home-based install on the East Coast. THAT got a lot of attention, and they initially backtracked a little.
As time went on, rates went up some more. The already difficult request for ISDN install or service in say, Midwestern or Southern mid-size cities became nearly impossible. Then the prices became impossible. Then the installs went away entirely.
Southern Cal/NYC/Boston/Wash.DC markets seem mostly safe for now, although — even there — prices and availability are inching up. Canada? Forget it!
Source-Connect, ipDTL, ConnectionOpen, Skype, CleanFeed, even Telos are getting so good at the IP solution for distance-recording that you might wonder why ISDN is around at all. Except it’s legacy…and it IS reliable (most of the time).
As some voice-actors were more-or-less forced to drop ISDN, an enterprising outfit called ISDN To-Go popped up to act as a seamless bridge from Source-Connect to ISDN. Most everyone who subscribed found the service to be helpful, reliable, and cost-effective.
But alas, the Colorado/Ohio-based company had to make an announcement to it’s subscribers Monday that they, too, were getting edged out by a disappearing technology.
My thanks to Jack de Golia for letting me re-purpose the letter he received from ISDN To-Go yesterday — more proof that the end is nearer (see below).
CourVO
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Attention ISDN To-Go Members:
As you know, ISDN To-Go was created to offer a low-cost, reliable ISDN solution for talent and studios around the globe. We’ve maintained a commitment to affordable rates, and ever-increasing quality for the duration of our existence.
However, our provider has recently notified us of an exponential rate increase for both our Colorado and Ohio locations, that has gone into effect immediately. Unfortunately, this makes our current pricing model impossible to sustain long-term.
Additionally, they have notified us that they will no longer guarantee ANY percentage of “up time” on wireline ISDN services. This means that any technical issues or outages would not be actionable in any way, and would otherwise render us completely powerless to hold the provider accountable for technical issues/failures.
As you can see, this puts us, as a company, in a very vulnerable position when it comes to ensuring quality and reliability for our members, as well as making it impossible to maintain our commitment to the affordable rates you’ve grown accustomed to.
Because of these changes – that are beyond our control – ISDN To-Go will be closing it’s doors. All membership billing will stop at the end of your current billing cycle.
We will honor our memberships by providing services to members through the end of their most recent billing cycle. There will be no new membership sales, and we will no longer dial out under any circumstances. Additionally, support will be limited to ensuring proper operation of our own systems, as we are at the mercy of our provider who now has no accountability as it relates to wireline ISDN services.
We want to thank you for being such wonderful clients and friends for so long, and wish you all continued success and growth in your careers.
Regards,
ISDN To-Go Team