[Gllug] OT Internet connection

[John Winters]

Pete Ryland wrote:
> On 14/03/07, John Winters <john at sinodun.org.uk> wrote:
>> This reminds me of a wonderful design mis-feature which I came across in
>> Australia in the 80s.
>>
>> Payphones there were usually inside (rather than kiosks in the street)
>> and the standard unit was a heavy red plastic one, with a coin slot.
>> Local calls were all a fixed price (60c if I remember correctly) and
>> clearly the design brief for the phone had specified that emergency
>> calls had to be free.
> 
> This doesn't sound like Australia.

It certainly was.

 > The public phones in the 80s were
> greenish metal, and all outside in tardises with awkward folding
> doors.

Whilst there were kiosks in the street, these were relatively unusual 
(at least compared to, say, London).  Most of the available payphones 
were these red plastic indoor ones.

> They could certainly dial without a coin,

Not on the red plastic ones you couldn't.

[snip]
> 
> Also, the price has *never* been as high as 60c.

You may well be correct - it may have been just 20c.  I said I wasn't 
sure about the price.  The rest of the behaviour was exactly as I 
described and in Melbourne at least, this type of payphone was the norm.

Cheers,
John
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