Telstra payphones are free for all calls within Australia to standard fixed line numbers and calls to standard Australian mobiles all year round – but this December, they’re also opening up the lines to Santa’s Workshop!
From 5-24 December, they’ll be offering free calls to Santa and his festive friends from all of their almost 15,000 payphones around the country. Children around Australia can connect to Santa, Mrs Claus, and Santa’s right-hand Elf for a Christmas chat just by dialing a payphone.
Aussie kids can call Santa’s Workshop from any Telstra payphone by dialing # HO HO HO, which is # 46 46 46 on the keypad. We’ll put them in direct contact with Santa’s switchboard – and then they can press 1 for Santa, 2 for Mrs Claus, or 3 for Santa’s friendly Elf.
Telstra want this to be a fun activity for kids that also teaches them how to locate and use a payphone, so they have the skills they need to contact a parent or caregiver at any
Connecting with each other is important, especially at Christmas. In August last year Telstra made payphones around Australia free for domestic calls, and they want Aussies to get out there and use them! They went a step further this year and switched on free Wi-Fi at some payphones, with the goal of upgrading the entire network of payphones to provide free Wi-Fi in coming years.
Call Santa and donate to the Salvos
In keeping with the Christmas spirit, they’ll be making a $1 donation to the Salvation Army for every call made to Santa’s Workshop.
The donations will help the Salvos to connect with some of the most vulnerable members of our community at this time of year. That might look like just sharing a cup of tea and reminding them they are cared for, or helping them access Salvation Army services available nationally.
Teach a young Aussie how to use a payphone
Calling Santa and his friends gives younger members of our community a fun and easy way to learn how to use a payphone. We all know how to use touchscreen smartphones these days, but we reckon there’s something a bit magical about picking up a payphone, hearing the dial tone and punching the numbers into the keypad.
You can also use this as a fun way to teach your younger loved ones where your nearest payphone is, and also how to dial ‘000’ if there’s an emergency. If you do, don’t forget to teach or remind them your home address as well.
Over the past year, over 20 million calls were made from payphones around Australia, and 250,000 of those were to critical service numbers such as 000 and Lifeline. While we wish that number wasn’t so large, we’re eager to get kids educated on how to use a payphone for whatever reason they need.
Find out more at https://exchange.telstra.com.au/free-calls-to-santa-and-friends-from-telstra-payphones/
