Date   : Wed, 13 Oct 1999 19:55:36 +0100 (BST)
From   : Brian Widdas <brian@...>
Subject: Re: Home (phoneline) network - vaguely on topic!

On Mon, 11 Oct 1999, David Wooding wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> How feasible is it to use home telephone lines as a home computer network 
> infrastructure? In our house I have installed sockets in every room and 
> have connected the maximum of six wires to each socket, though the phone 
> only really uses 2 of these wires. This leaves a socket with 4 lines in 
> each room of the house. Could you get two computers to connect serially to 
> each other using this network and a couple of cables with D connectors on 
> one end and phone plugs on the other? Or is there some problem of which I 
> haven't thought?

If you have a BT phone line (dunno about other companies, but I guess
they're the same), three lines of the six will be used, not two. The third
line is a bell shunt from the days of pulse dialing, but still in use.

And you want to be very careful to make sure you get the right wires,
otherwise you might fry something with the ringing current.

See the uk.telecom FAQ for more info.

Brian
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