This paper discusses different ways to globally provide the MAC Layer Service via interconnected MANs and B-ISDN. It takes into account several communication configurations, the use or non-use of Connectionless Servers in B-ISDN, protocol alternatives (AAL 3/4 or AAL 5) and especially various interworking scenarios: interworking at different levels / layers and protocol mapping versus encapsulation. None of the discussed alternatives is an optimum solution for all configurations taken into account. The applicable and the recommended alternatives for each configuration are identified.
