Digital Services

Today, all of the international telephone network is digital, with the exception of one wire—the one running from the telephone company central office to your home. This local loop, sometimes called the last mile, is the same stuff that Alexander Graham Bell experimented with and uses the same technology he developed—a pair of copper wires designed to carry analog voice signals. Eventually, this local loop will be replaced with a newer connection technology, such as coaxial cable or fiber optics carrying only digital data.

Businesses already have this option available to them. Modern cable television systems offer digital data communications capabilities as well, although dial-up voice circuits remain the province of the telephone ...

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