Telstra will allow payphones to take calls in parallel with price cuts

Telstra has changed the way it operates its 15,500 payphones in Australia and will allow them for the first time to accept incoming calls. The cost for those who use the public phone to receive the call is free unless they are in jail.

The phone company said that this change would help communities in which the use of the mobile phone has not taken off.

At the same time, Telstra announced that it has dropped the cost of national calls, mobile calls and international calls from payphones.

National calls will now cost a flat fee of AU $ 0.50, regardless of the time used, according to local calls. Calls to mobile phones went from $ 0.50 per 35 seconds to $ 0.50 for 10 minutes. These two price cuts will not apply to prisons or detention facilities, Telstra said.

For international calls filed, calls to countries like the United States, Singapore, India, China, Canada, Bangladesh and South Korea rise to AU $ 0.50 for 10 minutes, while AU $ 0.50 for 2 minutes will be charged for calls to countries including France and Greece. , Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom.

A third tier of 0.50 Australian dollar per minute will exist for calls to countries such as Brazil, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Ukraine and Vatican City. from pay phones.

Outside these three levels, international calls will cost $ 0.50 per 15 seconds.

Calls connected via mobile-satellite services will continue to vary between AU $ 0.50 per 7.5 seconds for Optus Mobile satellites and AU $ 0.50 per 45 seconds for those connected via Iterra.

"Telstra provides more than 15,500 public payphones across the country.These phones constitute a vital public service.This 13 million calls were made last year, of which 200,000 in emergency," said the Telstra's chief media officer, Pete Manwaring, in a statement. blogpost that presents all international fees.

"Despite the growth of mobile phone use, payphones remain an essential part of the social and community infrastructure, thus serving some of the most vulnerable citizens when needed."

Telstra had previously stated that it was considering updating its payphones to allow charging of mobile phones, Wi-Fi access and display of information and advertisements.

The telephone company said it has installed 34 of its new payphones in Melbourne.

"Concern has been expressed about the size and location of our new payphones.We recognize that the size has increased slightly, mainly to support fiber optic connections and other required equipment in a modern smart city, all being located at the same place to minimize street clutter, "said Manwaring at the time.

"The new payphones have also been designed to reduce the impact of pedestrians by adding height to width." The newly installed cabins in Melbourne are no more than 15 cm wider than the cabinets they have. replaced, used for more than 35 years. "

However, in May, the City of Melbourne filed a lawsuit in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Court over the modernization of its payphone, which Telstra decided to take to the Federal Court.

"Given that we operate a national payphone network, we think the best solution is to ask the Federal Court to decide whether our new payphones are a low impact facility, so we have a judgment that is safe. applies throughout Australia, "Telstra General Counsel for Corporate Legal & Affairs Carmel Mulhern said in May.

"This will avoid the time and cost of litigation in other states and should result in a faster and more consistent result."

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