Telstra is testing out free Wi-Fi in Australia

Telstra’s planned Wi-Fi network is one step closer to fruition with the 1000 hotspots set to go live before Christmas. Consumers are set to get their first taste of the network in November when Telstra fires up the Wi-Fi at some of Australia’s busiest locations, including Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne, Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall and Bondi Beach in Sydney.

Telstra’s trial of free Wi-Fi in a number of locations around Australia later this year will be more vulnerable to security risks than the company’s planned paid-for Wi-Fi network launching next year. The telecommunications giant announced some of the first of the 2 million hotspots sites as part of the company’s five-year, AU$100 million investment in a national Wi-Fi network this morning, including frequent tourist or shopping destinations like Bondi Beach or Bourke Street Mall. “It’s to ensure we can give customers a sense what’s coming next in the overall offering,” Telstra’s retail group executive Gordon Ballantyne told ZDNet.