by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked,
I have my high-speed internet connection (router) in one room, but I want to use my CapTel 800i phone in another room. Is there an easy way to do this without stringing an Ethernet line to that room?
You betcha! One way is to get a power line Ethernet adapter kit. Essentially, this provides you with a high-speed Ethernet connection anywhere in your house via your existing power lines.
The Ethernet adapter kit comes with two adapters. You plug one adapter into an electrical wall outlet near your router. Then you plug the Ethernet cable provided into the Ethernet adapter and plug the other end to an Ethernet jack on your router.
You plug the second Ethernet adapter into an electrical wall outlet in the room where you want your CapTel 800i located. Then you plug your CapTel phone’s Ethernet cable into the adapter. That’s basically all there is to it. Easy, huh? (Thanks to Lauren Cramer of Hamilton Relay for this nifty idea.)
Note: It is better to plug the adapters directly into wall outlets rather than into power bars or power strips.
Power line Ethernet adapters are readily available from stores such as Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, etc., or on-line from many places including Amazon. To search for one, just type “power line Ethernet adapter” into Google’s search box and you will find a number of sources for them.
These adapters come in different prices based on their speed. An adapter that runs at 85 Mbps (perfectly adequate for running the CapTel 800i) costs in the neighborhood of $70.00. If you want an even faster Ethernet connection, expect to pay around $115.00 for a 200 Mbps adapter kit. (I purchased a 200 Mbps NETGEAR Ethernet adapter from Staples for $120.00 for my second CapTel 800i phone that is not near my router, and it works great with this adapter.)
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