OG Telstra Payphone Booths Are Now Free All Over the Country

Long gone are the days of 1800REVERSE.

If you were born any time before 2000, you’ll probs remember how much of a hassle it was to pay for calls and text messages as a kid or teen.

Although it’s not that long ago, back before smartphones became mainstream, phone plans, calls, texts and even payphones were expenny as hell. I remember getting ripped off with a plan that charged me $1.25 per minute of a call (yikes).

Our only saviour back then was to dial 1800REVERSE, 1800MUMDAD or IOU and get our ‘rents to fit the bill.

Thankfully, aside from most plans being a little cheaper today, Telstra have finally gone and done the world a favour by making all of their payphone booths completely free all over Australia.

Can’t really be called a ‘payphone’ anymore, can it? It’s more like a ‘freephone’???

1800REVERSE—and likely many others like it—was closed in July 2019 anyways, so this change is sure to be a great help to those in a pinch.

You might be thinking: these payphones still exist? Well, the shocker is: yes! In fact there are 15,000 of these bad bois all across the country according to 9News.

Who knew these booths had a purpose other than looking aesthetically vintage in 2021?

So, why now? Well, Telstra wanna do their bit for people who might be in crisis situations, as well as helping boost connectivity, ‘cos COVID-19.

"The availability of a payphone is a vital lifeline, especially for those who are vulnerable including the homeless, people who are isolated or someone escaping an unsafe situation," Telstra CEO, Andrew Penn said.

Apparently 11 million calls were made across Australia via these Telstra payphones including 230,000 calls to critical services like 000 and Lifeline. So, despite them not being on every street corner anymore, they’re apparently still in big use.

Throwback to dialing a convoluted phone number in order to reverse charge prank call your parents (three rings only) so they could come and pick you up #payphones #telstra pic.twitter.com/fTlWwIn7II

— Tom Kelly (@tpwkelly) August 3, 2021

Mr Penn explained that the booths were also a great help during times of natural disasters, like the 2020 bushfires and floods, as well as dangerous situations like domestic violence.

"I can only imagine the relief their families feel knowing their loved one is safe," he said.

"It's not always easy for people in these situations to use a home phone or their mobile to get help so I hope that making payphone calls free might play a small part in helping them get the assistance they need.”

The Salvation Army’s Major Brendan Nottle welcomed the new announcement and told 9News how helpful it will be to vulnerable members of the community.

"The reality is this piece of infrastructure is absolutely critical because a lot of Australians either don't have a mobile phone, lose it or the phone's charger, or simply run out of credit," he said.

"Connection is absolutely vital for every human being, but particularly for those who are vulnerable.

"It's really important for them to break down that sense of social poverty, social isolation, and to connect with a friend or with support services."

So, whether you end up in a dangerous situation, need to help out a friend or have simply run out of credit, Telstra booths are now available for you.

Considering they’re not exactly in abundance anymore, if you’re in a pinch and aren’t sure where your closest phonebooth is, you can do a quick search on the Telstra payphone register and locator tool.

Header Image: Michael Rayner via 500px