Australia's Telstra has commercially launched its nationwide Wi-Fi network, Telstra Air, and is now allowing broadband customers to join up to the service.
Telstra Air launched yesterday in over 250 towns an cities across Australia. Broadband customers with compatible modems will be able to use their monthly allocation at any Telstra Air hotspot, in exchange for using a portion of their modem's bandwidth to grow the network.
Being developed in conjunction with global Wi-Fi provider Fon, Telstra Air will also allow customers to use 15 million hotspots in 18 overseas countries, including Japan, the UK, Spain, Brazil, France and Germany.
In a statement announcing the launch, Telstra said the company is working with a number of municipal councils to bring Telstra Air hotspots to more public spaces.
“The network will be brought to life by us and by our customers who can enjoy greater value from their broadband service by accessing their allowance outside the home,” Telstra group managing director of consumer and products Karsten Wildberger said.
“We expect it will grow rapidly reaching thousands of neighbourhoods and millions of people across the country over the next five years.”
Telstra has also introduced new broadband packages with higher data allowances and a compatible gateway, bundled with membership to Telstra Air.
While the operator has previously indicated plans to allow non-customers to access the network for a small fee, the company's latest announcement does not have any details of this plan.