Telstra

Telstra (formerly Telecom Australia; legally Telstra Corporation Limited) is Australia's largest telecommunications company and the operator of Australia's public payphone network. Payphone Tag is played exclusively on Telstra's public payphone network.

History

Australia's telecommunications services were originally controlled by the Postmaster-General's Department, formed in 1901. On 1 July 1975, the Australian Telecommunications Commission was established as a separate entity, trading as Telecom Australia. In February 1992, Telecom Australia merged with the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) to form the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (AOTC). The AOTC was renamed Telstra Corporation Limited in April 1993, and the domestic trading name changed from Telecom Australia to Telstra on 1 July 1995. The federal government progressively privatised Telstra beginning in 1997, completing the process in 2011.

Public payphone network

Telstra operates over 14,000 public payphones across Australia and has a universal service obligation to ensure payphones are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia, no matter where they live or conduct business. In August 2021, Telstra made standard national and mobile calls free from all of its public payphones. Coin acceptance ended from 8 October 2021.

Calls made from phones other than Telstra public payphones — including mobile phones, home phones, or payphones operated by other companies — are not recognised by the Operator and cannot be used to capture payphones in Payphone Tag.

See also

• Telecom Australia
• Payphone
• Telstra Smart Payphone