A woman walks past three Telstra public phone booths in suburban Sydney August 9, 2012. Telstra, Australia's biggest phone company, posted a larger-than-expected 5 percent fall in second-half profit as declines in its traditional fixed-line business outwe
A woman walks past three Telstra public phone booths in suburban Sydney August 9, 2012. Telstra, Australia's biggest phone company, posted a larger-than-expected 5 percent fall in second-half profit as declines in its traditional fixed-line business outweighed growth in fixed retail broadband and mobile revenue. Reuters/Daniel Munoz
A woman walks past three Telstra public phone booths in suburban Sydney August 9, 2012. Telstra, Australia's biggest phone company, posted a larger-than-expected 5 percent fall in second-half profit as declines in its traditional fixed-line business outweighed growth in fixed retail broadband and mobile revenue. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz (AUSTRALIA - Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS)

With almost every Australian above the age of 10 owning a mobile phone, payphones have become a relic of the past, as useless as the pager. But telco giant Telstra has taught of a brilliant way to recycle these things by converting them into Wi-Fi hotspots.

Telstar will launch in November the $100 million Wi-Fi network that would convert the payphones into 2 million hotspots in the next 5 years, reports Business Insider. Gordon Ballantyne, group executive for Telstra retail, said the first 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots would be running before Christmas.

He pointed to Bondi Beach in Sydney, retail outlets on Bourke Street and Queen Street Mall in Melbourne and Brisbane, which are popular summer destinations, as the areas where the telco would pilot test the hotspots in November. Also included are Rundle Mall in Adelaide, Elizabeth Street in Hobart, Civic Centre in Canberra, Hay Street Mall in Perth CBD and Smith Street Mall in Darwin.

Besides commercial business districts, Telstra would also include Regional Australia in the biggest Wi-Fi network of the initial 1,000 hotspot areas, Ballantyne said.

Canberra residents would have to pay to tap into the Telstra Wi-Fi, but they would have more choices and access when travelling to different states within Australia, using the same login, said Larissa Redford, Telstra general manager.

The Telstra Wi-Fi network is in addition to the ACT government's $3.1 million free Internet access when in Civic. It would be free until the national network is launched in early 2015. Canberrans could download 100 megabytes of data daily through 745 access points in the capital city. The first point to open in October is at Garema Place.

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the temporarily free Wi-Fi is expected to enliven Civic and spur more local enterprises to be part of a digital activity hub.

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