Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Making Pay Phones Pay

From: Rick Parrish <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 16:01:12 -0600

Soundbites ...

"Please deposit another fifty cents to resume surfing."
"Is this the party to whom I am FTP'ing?"

-rick

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,405456,00.html

WI-FI
Making Pay Phones Pay
Converting public pay phones into terminals for "Wi-Fi" Internet 
connections.
FORTUNE
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
By Stephanie N. Mehta

When was the last time you used a pay phone? Like many folks you 
probably long ago ditched quarters in favor of a cellphone. Which helps 
explain why Bell Canada recently started converting public pay phones in 
Toronto, Montreal, and Kingston into terminals for "Wi-Fi" Internet 
connections. Some U.S. phone companies may soon follow suit.

Wi-Fi, short for "wireless fidelity," is a wireless local area network 
that uses unlicensed airwaves to link laptop users. The service is the 
hottest thing in telecom these days, and Wi-Fi antennas and radios are 
popping up in Starbucks cafes, city parks, and shopping malls. The ideal 
location? A high-traffic area with a wired, high-speed connection to the 
Net.

Pay phones are a perfect solution. Phone lines can be sped up using DSL 
technology. Plus the phones are already installed in airports, hotel 
lobbies--the very places people want to communicate, notes Martin Dunsby 
of wireless consultancy InCode Telecom, which is working with Bell Canada.

Right now Bell Canada is offering a trial service free to users with 
Wi-Fi-enabled laptops. But you can bet that once phone companies start 
charging for access, those now overlooked pay phones may once again be 
raking in quarters.
 From the Jan. 20, 2003 Issue

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/