Telstra’s payphones will be free over the Christmas period
Phone home for nothing between 24 and 26 December this holiday period.
Christmas isn't always a time for cheer and family for everyone, and the simple act of communicating can be challenging for those less fortunate. As it did last year, Telstra has announced that from 24 December through to 26 December, it's opening up its entire public payphone network for free calls to enable Australians to stay in touch with friends, families and loved ones. No calling card or pesky coins required!
Telstra will also open up selected Telstra Air Wi-Fi hotspots for all to use, even if you're not a Telstra customer where access would normally be free of charge anyway.
Jackie Coates of the Telstra Foundation said that "Last year, 170,000 calls were made from our payphone network across the same period, with our data revealing NSW residents and visitors to be the biggest payphone users overall."
What's the catch?
There's not too much coal at the bottom of the stocking with this particular Christmas deal.
Telstra says that it's available from any of its 16,000 pay phones across the nation, excluding rented pay phones.
You can only call standard national, local or standard mobile numbers, so international calls, premium 19x numbers, satellite mobile, 1234 and 12456 directory services calls are excluded. It's not strictly prohibited, but given the charitable intent of the offer, don't be a pay phone hog if others are waiting to call either. That's just polite common sense.
Telstra hasn't provided a comprehensive list of which Telstra Air hotspots will be free to use, although if you're an existing Telstra customer the odds are good you've already got free access anyway.
Latest mobile plans headlines
Image: Shutterstock
