Connecting laptop to internet by phone line...

hjb123

Hi

After having problems with our electric wires etc last week and being without wireless internet for a while (ok, maybe not for long but long enough:D) I was just wondering how to connect the laptop to the internet via a phone line

What cable would I need? Is there a specific program or anything I would need on my laptop to be able to do it? I have an Acer 7520 if that helps. Just thought would look into getting a cable then we have internet backup if the electrics off for a while which it sometimes can be:D


Thanks

Sput2001

When you say "via the phone line" do you mean as dial-up or broadband?

If it's via broadband, you'd need an external modem. Ideally a simple USB-powered one that doesn't need a separate mains supply.

Idiophreak

Your computer will, if I'm right, currently be connecting to the internet via broadband using a wireless modem/router.

If you want to connect without the modem/router, you're going to need to have a modem of some kind attached to the laptop.

I don't really know if you can get broadband modems that don't require external power, but you can certainly get dial-up ones to do the trick. You'd then need to get seperate software and internet service provider setup to connect in this way..

hjb123

thanks for the replies

by 'via the phoneline', I mean plugging laptop straight into phone line - like where we currently have a landline phone. Wasnt sure what would be needed to do this though.

If/when electric is off the wireless router thing doesnt work but the phone line does so was thinking that even though no electric I would maybe be able to access the internet (well for as long as the laptop battery lasts without charging:D)

Idiophreak

Do you get frequent power cuts?

If you have intermittent problems, You could look at getting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) unit to power the router instead. Would give you half hour or so grace when the power went out.

hjb123

Idiophreak wrote: »

Do you get frequent power cuts?

If you have intermittent problems, You could look at getting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) unit to power the router instead. Would give you half hour or so grace when the power went out.

the electric doesnt often go off but when it does its either due to 'DIY gone wrong' or is off for a while - live in rural area and lots of underground cables etc

weegie.geek

I'd second the UPS idea then. It'll run the router for much longer than your laptop battery will hold out. Much more than half an hour if it's just the router running off it.

hjb123

so whats one of these UPS things and what sort of cost would I be looking at?

A_Nice_Englishman

Random examples:
UPS http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130477

USB powered modem http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=4662

I haven't done the sums, but I don't think the modem would take enough power from the laptop to significantly affect how long it would work on battery power alone.

It all depends how long your power cuts last for and how big your budget is. A big enough UPS could power the laptop and modem or router for days!

hjb123

wow, well to be honest I was kinda hoping it wouldnt really cost much, think was hoping there was just some cheap cable I would be able to get that would do the job rather than a box or anything:D

stevemcol

What laptop do you have? Modern recent laptops have built in modem. You just need a lead to plug into the phone point. Lots of cheap dial up numbers available.

caveat...it's entirely possible they've stopped installing modems! A few years since I bought my laptop. I'll stand correcting if that's so.