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FREE Telstra Wi-Fi™ Trial - 30 Mins @ 150 Hotspots, Hyde Park (SYD), Bourke St Mall (MEL) + More

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FREE Telstra Wi-Fi™ Trial - 30 Mins @ 150 Hotspots, Hyde Park (SYD), Bourke St Mall (MEL) + More
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ozbargained on 19/11/2014 - 22:50 telstra.com.au (730 clicks)
Last edited 19/11/2014 - 23:50 by 1 other user

Today, Telstra is starting the trial period for its "Wi-Fi Nation" program. Starting with 150 hotspots locations.

This is the beginning of what will be a paid service next year.

This trial allows: 30 mins "this summer"
So this probably only allows you to use 30 mins in total per device (MAC Address).

Some trial locations include:
- Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne
- Hyde Park & Bondi Beach in Sydney
- King George Square in Brisbane

*as well as in many regional towns and cities across Australia
More locations + upcoming locating tool will be updated soon!

Link to full Q & A: http://crowdsupport.telstra.com.au/t5/WiFi-Nation-Knowledge-…

============Telstra Wi-Fi™ Trial============

Can I access a Telstra Wi-Fi™ Hotspot if I’m not a Telstra customer?
Throughout the trial irrespective of whether you are a Telstra customer or not you can access Telstra Wi-Fi Hotspots, as long as you have a Wi-Fi enabled device.

What do I need to access a Telstra Wi-Fi Hotspot?
To access a Telstra Wi-Fi Hotspot you must:
Have a Wi-Fi enabled device
Be in range of a Telstra Wi-Fi Hotspot
Connect to the Free_Telstra_WiFi network name
Accept the Terms and Conditions to commence your session

How long can I use a Telstra Wi-Fi Hotspot for?
This summer, enjoy free 30 minute Wi-Fi trials at specially marked payphone sites.

What information are you recording as part of the trial?
We will collect and store the IP and MAC address of the device that has accessed the Wi-Fi service and non-personal information about your use of the Wi-Fi service. We will use this information for monitoring our service so that we can improve it.

How long is the Telstra Wi-Fi™ Trial running for?
We intend to run the trial during Summer. Throughout the trial we greatly appreciate your assistance in testing the network.

What is the range like on a Telstra Wi-Fi™ Hotspot?
Due to varying environmental conditions, we recommend remaining within 20 to 50 metres of the Wi-Fi Hotspot. A better connection experience is achieved by maintaining visibility of the Wi-Fi Hotspot at all times

Lifehacker article Everything you need to know about Telstra's Wifi rollout.

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closed Comments

  • rifter on 19/11/2014 - 22:56
    +6

    Wireless MAC Address Changer on Google Play or similar may come in useful.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 20/11/2014 - 00:01
      +2

      Root required?

    • kingmoron on 20/11/2014 - 01:02

      no need, just reconnect

    • cloudy on 20/11/2014 - 06:11

      Pain when I'm back home and need to reconnect to wifi?

      • dazweeja on 20/11/2014 - 11:51

        Only if you have a MAC address filter enabled on your router (which is disabled by default on every router I've seen) or some sort of advanced DHCP configuration.

    • PLA74 on 20/11/2014 - 17:29

      What if we sniff the routers MAC and spoof it to our device? Will that get us unlimited access to the WiFi Hotspot LOL? xD

  • jv on 19/11/2014 - 23:07

    Isn't the free trial always free ???

    • brongz on 19/11/2014 - 23:16
      +1

      when it still say 'free' then it is. otherwise it is different story at all. wait til next year

    • ozbargained on 19/11/2014 - 23:28
      +2

      The trial will be halted early next year. What are you playing at jv?

      • jv on 20/11/2014 - 00:06
        -2

        Was in Darebin the other day, they have free wifi all the time…

        • ozbargained on 20/11/2014 - 00:07

          Telstra Free wifi trial started TODAY.

        • jv on 20/11/2014 - 00:09
          -5

          @ozbargained:

          Telstra Free wifi trial started TODAY.

          Maccas Free wifi started years ago, that doesn't make it a bargain.

          It's just an announcement…

        • ozbargained on 20/11/2014 - 00:14
          +20

          Is complaining all you do?

    • [Deactivated] on 20/11/2014 - 06:31
      +1

      With Telstra, free is usually redefined in the T&C to mean hand over frst born, they having naming rights to all your kids, pets, etc. They now own you're home, car, phone, tablet. They have the right to install base stations (or wifi hotspots?) on your families heads. There's a $5m connection fee or there's no connection fee, but it's $2m/kb for data. Hell must be frozen. etc etc etc.

  • INFIDEL on 19/11/2014 - 23:12
    +2

    Considering Telstra are siting hotspots in Brisbane where the council already provides free WiFi (King George Square), does not seem much advantage at the moment.

    30 minutes free is not much over a summer.

    So look out for the WiFi enabled Payphones!

  • swiggity swag on 19/11/2014 - 23:13
    +7

    This should be in the forums. What's stopping people from posting every wi-fi hotspot as a 'bargain'.

    • ozbargained on 19/11/2014 - 23:32

      This is a coordinated nationwide program. Not some random Wifi hotspot.

      • jv on 20/11/2014 - 00:07
        -3

        This is a coordinated nationwide program.

        So is Macca's wifi, Target wifi, Officeworks wifi etc. etc. etc…..

        http://northcote.thewifihub.com/council.php

        • fatal on 20/11/2014 - 11:32

          Except that those are in private businesses not open public spaces.

        • jv on 20/11/2014 - 15:26

          @fatal:

          Except that those are in private businesses not open public spaces.

          Since when is a local council a private business?

          It's available along the whole shopping strip, in open public spaces

        • INFIDEL on 20/11/2014 - 16:26

          @jv:
          This system is intended to cover much more than one whole shopping strip, eventually covering many areas of Australia, within businesses as well as open spaces.

          It's to be an integrated system (you have a paid account with) rather than the piecemeal approaches ("Macca's wifi, Target wifi, Officeworks wifi etc. etc. etc….." & councils - all with restrictions on downloads & speeds) so far.

          This is common where I am in Japan. Businesses display signs telling you can use certain Telcos' WiFi - on your Telco allowance. People may choose a certain cafe/bar because of the access. The company's modem is usually on display. It is also available in open spaces, stations, and small villages. You use the WiFi as if you were at home etc. But free WiFi is much rarer here. That's the disadvantage of people being used to this system.

          Whether that is good, better, best - we will soon know. Seems like Telstra is a late comer looking to make money from what would otherwise be provided free.

  • samlor on 20/11/2014 - 07:28
    +3

    I must agree with jv on this one being an announcement rather than a bargain so have up voted all his relevant comments to balance out all the down votes.

  • number5 on 20/11/2014 - 07:56

    "Paid Wifi Nation" I think that's Telstra's idea…

  • djones145 on 20/11/2014 - 08:27
    +1

    Sydney cbd has quite a lot of free wifi spots now, Samsung store, office works, nab, maccas, apple store, david jones, Telstra stores, awesome

    • sanmigueelbeer on 20/11/2014 - 09:04

      Telstra is playing catch-up. There are a number of councils who have put up their own free WiFi, like Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra, in selected areas.

      So Telstra needs to do this. Unfortunately, not everyone has Telstra account so not everyone can avail of their hotspot. This leaves a significant chunk of the population free to choose other methods.

      The downside to Telstra's hotspot is you need to be in close proximity (up to 30 metres, I think) to access this and you can't roam (due to the distances not covered by the WiFi hotspot).

  • sanmigueelbeer on 20/11/2014 - 09:00
    +1

    It's easy to detect the WiFi Hotspot on Telstra's phone booth. The phone boot must be adjacent to a mechanical billboard. Above the phone booth is a small pyramid. The pyramid houses the Meraki AP and antenna. The phone booth houses the DSL modem. Currently being rolled out only in Melbourne because the demographics will dictate if Telstra will continue down the path of Meraki as the AP of choice.

    Now this is just one "phase". The other phase is to enable WiFi Hotspot (note, I did not say "free") where there are no Telstra phone booths around (like residential neighborhood). What Telstra will do is quietly activate your Telstra-supplied DSL modems to become WiFi Hotspot. If someone complains, Telstra can respond with "Oops. Sorry." and turn off the hotspot component but leaving your own home WiFi SSID alone (hopefully). If your Telstra-supplied modem isn't WiFi capable, you might (magic word "MIGHT") get a communique from Telstra saying something in the words like "congratulations, as a valued customer we're going to upgrade your DSL modem to a WiFi-capable modem for free".

  • zzymurgy on 20/11/2014 - 09:29
    +1

    Looks like one was spotted in Adelaide. No way to verify it but here's how it looks:
    http://twitter.com/danger_zane/status/534486283104436224/pho…

    • sanmigueelbeer on 20/11/2014 - 09:30

      Yes. That's one of them.

      • zzymurgy on 20/11/2014 - 09:55

        Corner of James Place and Grenfell St, Adelaide

  • shinnyhappy on 20/11/2014 - 09:43
    +3

    Where is the list of LOCATIONS?

    What are the locations in NSW Central Coast (WoyWoy, NSW, 2256)?

  • sanmigueelbeer on 20/11/2014 - 09:45
    +1

    Telstra being Telstra, can someone please check to see what speed is the WiFi being throttled down to?

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 20/11/2014 - 10:30

    I saw a tech working on a payphone this morning in Charlestown.

  • mattyman on 20/11/2014 - 12:47
    +1

    I won't be connecting any of my devices to a public wifi hotpost. To easy for a man in the middle attack.

    • INFIDEL on 20/11/2014 - 14:03

      Similar issues raised in Lifehacker article comments (see deal description). With roll out to private houses, you may think you are connecting to Telstra's WiFi…

    • Praeto on 22/11/2014 - 13:52

      It's an absolutely shocking idea from a security perspective. Once you connect to an unsecured wireless network, your device will keep looking for that network automatically. Rogue APs can listen for your devices attempts to connect, and respond as if they're a Telstra access point so that your device connects (often without asking).

      It's not like the attackers need to walk around with a wireless router and antenna either. A nexus 5 / 7 android phone / tablet is easy enough to setup with the software to do it.. They can walk through a crowded area and have devices automatically connect to them and start routing traffic through their device.

      It's just a bad, bad idea.

  • srhardy on 20/11/2014 - 15:17
    +1

    this new deal is a bad deal. just buy a coffee and free wifi or goto bunnings, target, goodguys and others and get it… 30min, stuff that

  • shinnyhappy on 20/11/2014 - 16:14

    What are the locations?

  • trisnadi on 20/11/2014 - 23:07

    Seems to be quite speedy:
    https://twitter.com/longzheng/status/534854883351224320

    • sanmigueelbeer on 24/11/2014 - 08:39
      +1

      Speedy for now because no one is using them. Once you've got the momentum going it'll slow down and/or Telstra will start throttling the speed. At the end of the day, the bottleneck is going to be the maximum allowed speed of your DSL line (whether or not this is a public payphone or someone's residential DSL hotspot) and wireless is a shared medium (i. e. One talks, everyone else has to wait for their turn to "talk").

  • daver on 21/11/2014 - 02:03

    There's no uplink to share in this country though, unless you count a couple megabits/s.

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