Telstra slashes payphone prices

Telstra has overhauled pricing for its publicly accessible payphones, cutting call rates across the board.

National calls are now billed at a flat rate of 50c, down from a minimum of 50c per minute. International calls start at 50c for 10 minutes to 11 selected destinations, with reduced pricing for a further 60 countries.

These 11 destinations include Bangladesh, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

In addition, all Telstra payphones are now able to receive incoming calls.

Here is a complete look at the pricing changes:

According to Pete Manwaring, Telstra's Product Principle for Media, Product, and Technology, the telco intends to continue upgrading its payphones with new features over the coming years.

"Future payphones could contain a range of features including digital screens, Wi-Fi, 5G enabled technology and mobile device charging, as well as providing a space for communicating everything from emergency alerts to a range of content services such as public transport information to city maps, weather, tourist advice, information on nearby cultural attractions and the ability to promote the work of charitable organisations," said Manwaring.

At present, many Telstra payphones already double as public WiFi hotspots providing access to Telstra Air.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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