The same thing was possible with PCs too! All the way to Windows XP, there was a built-in dial program (HyperTerminal) that let you send files and chat over the phone line directly, outside the Internet, and only the person initiating the connection would be the one paying, since it was fundamentally just a phone call.
It was also awesome because it bypassed the Internet. It could work if you were censored, didn't have an ISP or if the Internet was completely shutdown (I used it for exactly that when Egypt shutdown the Internet in Jan 2011).
It was also awesome because it bypassed the Internet. It could work if you were censored, didn't have an ISP or if the Internet was completely shutdown (I used it for exactly that when Egypt shutdown the Internet in Jan 2011).
https://scintrexltd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Data-Tran...
https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/windows-xp-in/059600900...