These days, most of us take smartphones for granted. But we know that there are still many people who are isolated or in vulnerable circumstances who have access to a mobile device, but do not have the data to be able to connect with others.
Starting today, around 3,000 of our Wi-Fi enabled payphones across Australia will offer free Wi-Fi access to anyone, and work is already underway on the rest of our 12,000 payphones to provide Telstra Wi-Fi free for years to come.
This was the next step in ensuring all Australians can stay connected and follows our decision last year to make free calls from public payphones.
In recent years, we have seen public phones play a critical role in many communities across the country, particularly those affected by disasters such as the recent flooding in northern New South Wales and Queensland, and the bushfires in summer.
These areas are where we are prioritizing upgrading our pay phones to be more energy resilient and Wi-Fi enabled at around 1,000 pay phone locations.
In addition to being able to make calls from these locations, Wi-Fi access allows more people to connect with loved ones to let them know they’re safe and to access other important online resources.
Nearly 19 million free calls were made from Telstra payphones last year, with more than 250,000 calls made to critical services such as Triple Zero (000) and Lifeline. Centrelink was the most dialed service from public phones in the last year.
Those calls show a more than 70 percent increase in call volume from payphones compared to the previous year, demonstrating the vital role Telstra’s humble payphone still plays in our community.
As part of our T25 strategy, we are committed to supporting digital inclusion and keeping customers connected in vulnerable circumstances. Making payphone calls and Wi-Fi free and accessible to all is a reminder that technological change is about more than innovation.
The easiest way to log in to Free Telstra Wi-Fi is to find a public phone marked ‘Free Telstra Wi-Fi’ and connect to the ‘Free Telstra Wi-Fi’ network in your device settings.
But if you want a little more help, we’ve got a map to find your nearest Wi-Fi payphone and a step-by-step guide on how to connect below.
Where to find free Telstra Wi-Fi in Australia
Use this map to find your nearest payphone, you can also filter to Wi-Fi enabled locations only:
How to connect to Telstra Wi-Fi
- Find your nearest Telstra Wi-Fi payphone using the map above and our Find Us page. Or you can simply search for “Telstra Free Wi-Fi” brand payphones while you’re out and about.
- Turn on your device’s Wi-Fi if it’s not already on
- Select the “Telstra Free Wi-Fi” in your Wi-Fi settings
- The Telstra Wi-Fi portal will launch automatically where you just need to accept the terms and conditions.
- That is all! You are online.
After connecting to a Telstra Wi-Fi network for the first time, your device should automatically connect to other Telstra Wi-Fi hotspots as well. If not, just repeat the steps above to connect.
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