RandTel project: Vermont payphones restored for free internet calling in rural areas
Patrick Schlott, an electrical engineer from Vermont, restores vintage payphones by converting them to internet-based calling devices. His project provides free, coinless public phones to rural communities where cellphone service is limited.
Patrick Schlott, an electrical engineer from Williamstown, Vermont, is breathing new life into old payphones by refurbishing and rewiring them to work over the internet without requiring coins.
Schlott’s project, called RandTel (Randolph Public Telephone Operating Company), aims to provide free, reliable public phone access in areas where cellphone signals are weak or unavailable.
How RandTel works: coinless internet-enabled payphones
Patrick Schlott buys payphones at auctions or flea markets and reinstalls them in places they will be used for free by members of the public. According to him, even if just one person benefits from it, all the effort would have been worth it.
"The old-school phone kind of goes with the old-school barn vibes—I think it's perfect." According to him, "RandTel," was inspired by similar projects in Philadelphia, Portland and Oregon. He also says the old payphones were built to last even in harsh conditions.
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RandTel meets community needs in rural Vermont
The restored payphones are placed at critical places like the Randolph Info Barn, North Tunbridge General Store, and Latham Library in Thetford. The library was even a more important location, as there is no signal in there and many kids need to call their parents for a ride home, especially after the local school banned smartphones for students.
Andrea Easton of the White River Valley Chamber of Commerce, commented on the project, saying "There's not a person that I've discussed this project with that thinks it's foolish." She is Schlott's host for the latest free payphone partnership.
