internet through payphone??

[freakazoid]

Does anybody know if it would be possible to get an internet conection through a payphone. Has anybody done it? Would the phone company come track you down?

[night_flux]

Does anybody know if it would be possible to get an internet conection through a payphone. Has anybody done it? Would the phone company come track you down?

I know that in London they have internet booths set up like payphone booths where you pay for x amount of minutes of use, I don't know if there is anything like that set up here in the states.

The way you pose your question though sounds like you would like to do something of a questionable nature, so I'll end it there.

[freakazoid]

Nothing of a questionable nature. A while back when I was getting the carts where I work at Dillons, I saw someone talking on a payphone and I was like, that wold be cool if you could connect to the internet through it. Just mindless curiosity. Although curiosity did kill the cat, stupid cats.

[skroo]

A while back when I was getting the carts where I work at Dillons, I saw someone talking on a payphone and I was like, that wold be cool if you could connect to the internet through it.

It is possible and the technology has existed for nearly 40 years. What you're looking for is an acoustic coupler.

[skroo]

I know that in London they have internet booths set up like payphone booths where you pay for x amount of minutes of use, I don't know if there is anything like that set up here in the states.

Actually, this isn't quite how it works. The phone itself is also an Internet terminal, offering web access. Cost is around 10p/minute (IIRC) for Internet connectivity, and speeds suggest that they're probably running single-channel ISDN to each phone. See http://www.payphones.bt.com/ for more info.

[freakazoid]

Sweet. Thanks for the link. Wish I had money to get something like that. If you had something like that and you connected your laptop to the payphone using coupler and after you put in your quarters would you be able to use the internet or are payphones set up differently from a house phone? And if you did connect to the internet would that be against any weird laws because it is through a payphone?

[jesse]

If you had something like that and you connected your laptop to the payphone using coupler and after you put in your quarters would you be able to use the internet or are payphones set up differently from a house phone?

as long as you depoisted the coins, then dialed the number first, the modem will make the connection to the other modem just fine. Keep in mind that it may connect at low speed due to the noise of the cuppler and the quality of the payphone line.

And if you did connect to the internet would that be against any weird laws because it is through a payphone?

No. As long as your paying for the time on the payphone, there should be no "law" breaking.

[astcell]

Some ISPs want at least a 14.4 connection speed or they'll drop you. What's the best you'll do via an acoutic coupler?

[bascule]

Some ISPs want at least a 14.4 connection speed or they'll drop you. What's the best you'll do via an acoutic coupler?

The only one I've ever seen was 300 baud. The best that exist are 2400 baud, I believe...

[noid]

I had a 9600 baud one..I've seen them as high as 19.2 (though the connect rate would be lower)

[Floydr47]

I had a 9600 baud one..I've seen them as high as 19.2 (though the connect rate would be lower)

At the mall near my house they have WiFi terminals. Looks like a payphone with an extra credit card slot. I didn't pay too much attention to it other than to note that it was .25 cents/min.
I believe you have to use a credit card as I didn't see a coin slot. Also, my brother PM'ed me from a pay phone at the airport in NYC last week using his laptop, so the technology must be in use.

[skroo]

I had a 9600 baud one..I've seen them as high as 19.2 (though the connect rate would be lower)

Actually, I have a similar one to the model in the link I posted earlier. I've got 19.2Kbps out of it before, but that was in very controlled conditions in my apartment (as many external noise sources as possible eliminated, towel wrapped around the coupler and handset several times).

[KeLviN]

Sweet. Thanks for the link. Wish I had money to get something like that.

they are buildable.....

[night_flux]

Actually, this isn't quite how it works. The phone itself is also an Internet terminal, offering web access. Cost is around 10p/minute (IIRC) for Internet connectivity, and speeds suggest that they're probably running single-channel ISDN to each phone. See http://www.payphones.bt.com/ for more info.

Thanks for the clarification, I didn't use one while I was there, but I glanced in one and wrote what i could remember.

[astcell]

...note that it was .25 cents/min.

Really, one quarter of one cent per minute? That's one cent for four minutes. Either it's a great deal or you just don't understand the concept of decimal places.