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PSA: Telstra's Air Nationwide Wi-Fi Is Live Today

CAMPBELL SIMPSON30 JUNE 2015 3:45 PM

Are you a Telstra home broadband customer? If you opt in to share your home Wi-Fi with strangers, you’ll get free access to the Telstra Air network of nationwide Wi-Fi. That network is live and switched on in thousands of locations as of today.

Telstra Air is the new name for what was a year ago called Wi-Fi Nation, but that existing mesh of thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots in old payphones and cafes is being supplemented by new deals with shopping centres, large sporting stadiums and public transport hubs to build out and expand the Air network to cover a larger area of Australia’s metropolitan areas.

When they sign up for Telstra Air, a Telstra home broadband user’s home Wi-Fi network will be split into two, with one frequency band re-broadcast as a Telstra Air hotspot and with bandwidth available to any other Air customer that might want to use it. So, to have the ability to use a Telstra Air hotspot when you’re not at home, you’ll have to be comfortable with sharing a “small portion” of your home Internet connection publicly. This usage, of course, will come from the Air user’s quota and not the home broadband owner’s allowance, and the separate Wi-Fi network should be completely isolated from the user’s home Wi-Fi for extra security.

Four Telstra Gateway modems already support the Telstra Air network — they’ve had over-the-air software updates to enable the additional Wi-Fi networks in the background. Every Telstra modem sold in the future, too, will support the creation of Air networks through secondary Wi-Fi frequencies. If you’re a home broadband user and want to opt in to the Telstra Air program, take a look here.

Of course, if you’re not already a Telstra home broadband customer, then you’ll be able to access an Air hotspot by paying the regular Fon prices — $6.60 for an hour, $10 for a day, $23 for five days:

[Telstra Air]

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DISCUSS

27 COMMENTS | REPLY

menvert @menvert

JUNE 30, 2015 3:58 PM

So this is the next ideal way to avoid companies claiming that you are supplying pirated material? I mean now my WiFi is shared with the whole neighborhood, I can't control what they do...

Reply 0
- tiberath @tiberath
  
  JULY 1, 2015 4:51 AM
  
  The data being used comes out of the users limit, not the households.
  
  That plus metadata means it's pretty safe to say Telstra will know the difference between you pirating and your neighbour on your air network pirating.
  
  Reply 0
Brendo @bigtbafe

JUNE 30, 2015 4:27 PM

At least they didn't go the comcast route and make it opt-out.

Reply 0
kings @kings

JUNE 30, 2015 4:28 PM

Whilst this is an interesting concept it is a shame that general public WiFi is no longer available except at a significant cost. I would see backpackers, kids, the elderly all sitting in cafes using these spots near telstra public phones. Unless they are broadband users with telstra at home (highly unlikely - they would not be sitting near a public phone just for the internet) they will no longer use this system. It had the makings of something really good for the community in general and had the secondary function of re utilising public phone boxes - and maybe lessening vandalism as these had a use to everyone. I am a telstra customer with mobile and separate data services for my laptop. Broadband is poor where I live - the copper is rubbish and I cannot get better than 3 mbs despite being only 3 to 4 km from the exchange. I am technically not able to use this system without ridiculous cost.

Reply 0
- jjcoolaus @jjcoolaus
  
  JULY 1, 2015 10:56 AM
  
  At least it will be fast. Telstra don't do free.
  
  In other countries though, this is quite normal. In Thailand wifi networks by telcos are everywhere in the towns and they are free for mobile/home customers of that telco but tourists have to pay.
  
  Municipal rollouts of WiFi are gaining momentum in Australia for the CBD areas. They are however very slow. Shopping centre and fast food free wifi allows 50mb or less of data per user per day. There's always a catch to "free" because SOMEONE always pays.
  
  When I'm overseas I pony up the money for decent mobile broadband. I spent 3 weeks in Bali in June and ended up spending over $100 on mobile costs to get decent speeds. That's a tiny fraction of what the whole holiday cost me, so it's fine.
  
  I wonder if Optus will consider a similar wifi rollout for it's customers?
  
  Reply 0
Inigo Montoya @inigomontoya

JUNE 30, 2015 4:54 PM

For me, I would have to pay $9x24 months or $216 once off to replace my perfectly working ADSL Modem Router with a Telstra one to get this to work. Is it worth really worth it to be able to access all those Wifi points?

Reply 0
- azure7 @azure7
  
  JUNE 30, 2015 5:06 PM
  
  If you really want to join in, just call telstra. They might be able to give you a free modem (if they want to promote the use of Air - which BTW, I am surprise has not been copyrighted by Apple already). I just joined with them last month and they gave me a free modem for the connection. Maybe they can give it to you as an incentive to stay with them?
  
  Reply 0
  - dknigs @dknigs
    
    JUNE 30, 2015 8:34 PM
    
    They'll probably want a recontract for 24 months for any incentives. It's not foxtel, no incentives for month to month.
    
    Reply 0
- jjcoolaus @jjcoolaus
  
  JULY 1, 2015 10:57 AM
  
  Do you travel overseas or interstate a bit? If so, then probably yes, but you will have to look at where you are going to be and how likely you would be to access those points.
  
  Plus any data you do use, including overseas, comes off your Telstra home broadband quota here in Australia.
  
  Reply 0
ozoneocean @ozoneocean

JUNE 30, 2015 5:07 PM

$10 for a day pass and $6.60 for an hour? HAHAHAHA! What is this Cuba? Internet on an international plane flight is cheaper. Fuck Telstra.

Reply 0
- husky @husky
  
  JUNE 30, 2015 5:53 PM
  
  The idea is to promote people to share their own wifi, which means you get access to ALL access points for free. If they make it cheap enough that everyone uses it, there's no bandwidth left for people who are providing it to others.
  
  Reply 1
  - ozoneocean @ozoneocean
    
    JULY 1, 2015 12:10 PM
    
    If they make it cheap enough for more users then they'll get more cash to provide better services and increase bandwidth. - See, that speculation works both ways.
    
    Reply 0
- shakeel-ali @shakeel-ali
  
  JUNE 30, 2015 9:28 PM
  
  Thats the price you pay if you aren't already a Telstra customer, so in one way it's to show people who arent Telstra customers one of the biggest selling points of a Telstra internet connection is being able to access your download allowance anywhere essentially.
  
  Reply 0
- jjcoolaus @jjcoolaus
  
  JULY 1, 2015 11:15 AM
  
  That's standard "Fon" hotspot pricing around the world.
  
  "Free" wifi is rarely, if ever, provided anywhere in the world without many limitations (like data and time limits), which is the cost of using it.
  
  If you want heaps good data speeds without paying extra for wifi, get a bigger data plan on your phone and use that instead.
  
  Reply 0
  - ozoneocean @ozoneocean
    
    JULY 1, 2015 12:08 PM
    
    This is my problem with it: Data on your phone can be got for a pretty good price and it's available everywhere, not just a few hotspots, and it's the same situation overseas, so there's no reason at all to be paying those costs. They're massively overpriced.
    
    Reply 0
michael t queensland Guest

JUNE 30, 2015 7:01 PM

my Telstra adsl +2 cant handle the computers in the home let alone give my bandwith to strangers???? maybe this fantasy would workif the nbn was nationwide but that's another fantasy

Reply 1
- ilusha @ilusha
  
  JULY 1, 2015 9:45 AM
  
  ^^^ That!
  
  Well, i'm not with Telstra, but I don't think that precious Telstra customers free from lags in games and streaming/downloading issues during peak hours.
  And sharing poor bandwidth (20-22 mbit/s) with strangers for Telstra to make more money??? Keep dreaming.
  
  Reply 0
  - Uev Guest
    
    JULY 1, 2015 10:19 AM
    
    You call 20-22 mbits/s poor?. imagine what it's like when you get 6!
    
    Reply 0
    - ilusha @ilusha
      
      JULY 1, 2015 3:02 PM
      
      Yes I call this speed "poor" comparing to speed I should have to start sharing the bandwidth.
      Ok, I'm greedy. I call it "demanding customer".
      
      Reply 0
  - jjcoolaus @jjcoolaus
    
    JULY 1, 2015 11:20 AM
    
    I would love to have 20-22 megabits at home, but I only have 7.
    
    You are in a very privileged position.
    
    Reply 0
    - ilusha @ilusha
      
      JULY 1, 2015 3:06 PM
      
      I feel for you.
      I indicated my speed to say that close to max ADSL2+ speed is not enough to have spare bandwidth for people who axed FTTP to make more money.
      
      Reply 0
- jjcoolaus @jjcoolaus
  
  JULY 1, 2015 11:18 AM
  
  There is a minimum sync speed you need at home before you are allowed to offer up part of your ADSL for the wifi program.
  
  Most Australians don't live in an area so densely populated that many other people can get access anyway. My home wifi barely reaches the boundaries of my property and the signal a neighbour gets, if any, is very weak.
  
  Reply 0
iceman004 @iceman004

JUNE 30, 2015 8:55 PM

So, how would this work with the new data retention laws if anonymous people are using your wifi?

Reply 0
- tiberath @tiberath
  
  JULY 1, 2015 4:58 AM
  
  "This usage, of course, will come from the Air user’s quota and not the home broadband owner’s allowance"
  
  The same way they determine which user to deduct bandwidth from.
  
  Reply 0
ilusha @ilusha

JULY 1, 2015 9:37 AM

It's a joke.
$10 a day (What?) and still use own "allowance" (WHAT?).

What is "allowance" Telstra? Every provider offers unlimited internet which are the only sane choice today.
Do you still go with "Unlimited X GB"? It's hilarious!

I could comprehend $10/day Unlimited, but THIS...
It's a joke.

LAST EDITED JULY 1, 2015 9:39 AM

Reply 0
- gags @gags
  
  JULY 1, 2015 9:59 AM
  
  It's only $10 a day if you're not a Telstra customer. And anyone using your Air Hotspot at home uses their home data allowance not yours. The only thing of yours being taken is some of your bandwidth.
  
  LAST EDITED JULY 1, 2015 10:05 AM
  
  Reply 0
mrxion @mrxion

JULY 1, 2015 12:16 PM

Pretty pissed off that you have to use one of Telstra's routers. I have a perfectly good Billion ADSL modem/router and I'm with Bigpond. Would be quite happy to share my home bandwidth (ha ha - rural property, pretty much have to be inside the house to get the wi-fi signal), but I can't and I'm not paying for another modem/router.

Reply 0