This paper describes the integrated services digital network (ISDN) basic rate interface (BRI) two‐wire U interface and the transceiver necessary for the digital transmission of 160 kb/s of information over unshielded twisted pair transmission media. Topics discussed include the U interface structure and framing as described in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) T1.601 specification, and the VLSI implementation of the ISDN U transceiver. Pertinent transceiver design issues addressed include the type of line code used, such as 2B1Q or 4B3T, echo cancellation, near end crosstalk, equalization and sampling rates.