Free Wi-Fi now available across select Telstra payphones

In an effort to assist Australians who are isolated or in vulnerable circumstances, Telstra has announced that around 3000 of its Wi-Fi enabled payphones across the country will now offer free Wi-Fi access to anyone — with work already underway on the rest of the company’s 12,000 payphones to provide free Wi-Fi over the next few years.

Telstra said this was the next step in ensuring all Australians are able to stay connected, following its decision in August last year to make calls from public payphones free. Almost 19 million free calls have been made from Telstra payphones in the past year — more than a 70% rise in call volume when compared to the previous year — with over 250,000 calls made to critical services like Triple Zero (000) and Lifeline, and Centrelink being the most-dialled service.

Telstra said payphones have played a vital role in many communities across the country over the last few years, particularly those impacted by disasters such as the recent floods and summer bushfires. The company is now upgrading its payphones in these areas to be more power resilient and enabling Wi-Fi across around 1000 payphone locations, which should help more people to connect with loved ones to let them know they’re safe, and access important online resources.

The easiest way to log into free Telstra Wi-Fi is to find a ‘Free Telstra Wi-Fi’ branded payphone and connect to the ‘Free Telstra Wi-Fi’ network in your device settings. To find payphones in your area, click here.

Image credit: iStock.com/Douglas Cliff