Australia’s Most Instagrammed Locations – Celebrating world WiFi day

Telstra has worked with Instagram to reveal the top locations in Australia where we are posting pictures for worldwide attention with Bondi Beach topping the list nationally.

June 20 is “World Wi-Fi day” and Telstra have enabled their millionth WiFi access point in Australia, using a combination of Telstra customers and 4,000 Telstra Air hotspots (Payphone locations primarily).

Sharing videos and photos is a common use for free WiFi hotspots so to celebrate World WiFi day Instagram and Telstra have released each state’s top spot for social media photo sharing.

They are:

• Bondi Beach, New South Wales
• St Kilda Beach, Victoria
• Surfers Paradise Beach, Queensland
• Fremantle Beach, Western Australia
• Glenelg Beach, South Australia
• Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Tasmania

Telstra’s General Manager for Telstra Air, Viveca Samuelsson, said Australians were getting savvier at seeking out Wi-Fi hotspots to avoid tapping into their mobile data, with usage on the network more than doubling in the past year.

Telstra knows we’re getting smarter with our mobile data, with Telstra Air General Manager Viveca Samuelsson saying we’re looking to WiFi to save mobile data “With hotspots in some of the most iconic and snap-worthy locations around Australia, Telstra Air is helping Aussies up their ‘Insta game’,” Ms Samuelsson said.

“And with a million hotspots now live, our eligible mobile and broadband customers can tap into free and unlimited Wi-Fi data to stream, share and post at more of their favourite beach areas, parks, shopping precincts and holiday destinations. 

“To celebrate the rapid growth of the network and to recognise the huge role Wi-Fi plays in our lives, we’re opening up our public hotspots for World Wi-Fi Day on Tuesday.”

Of course, Aussies SHOULD love WiFi – we invented it.

Here’s Telstra’s timeline of WiFi globally and in particular in Australia

• 1992: A CSIRO team created ‘multipathing’ – a system that allowed for faster and more reliable wireless internet connection, and paved the way for Wi-Fi as we know it today.1996: CSIRO patents the multipathing technique in the US, then known as IEEE 802.11.
• 1999: The term ‘Wi-Fi’ entered the popular lexicon when the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (now Wi-Fi Alliance) enlisted Interbrand to come up with a catchier name for ‘IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence’.
• July 2003: Telstra launches Telstra Wireless Hotspots – an early public Wi-Fi network designed to keep business types connected at hotels, airport lounges, coffee shops and commercial precincts.
• Late 2004: The Nokia 9500 became Telstra’s first Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone. It came with a 0.3MP video recorder, could send and receive faxes and sported a full QWERTY keyboard.
• March 2005: Telstra became the first Australian ISP to launch Wi-Fi enabled modems for homes.
• March 2014: Telstra partners with ANZ Stadium in Sydney to bring free Wi-Fi to fans in 83,000 seats. Telstra now connects fans with free Wi-Fi at the SCG, Etihad Stadium, Allianz Stadium and Perth Stadium.
• April 2014: Telstra announces it will build one of the world’s largest Wi-Fi networks increasing connectivity in the places Australians live, work and visit.
• June 2015: Australia’s largest Wi-Fi network, Telstra Air, launches allowing customers to access their home broadband allowance when they’re out and about at more than 250 towns and cities across Australia and 15 countries around the world.
• December 2015: Telstra opens its Telstra Air Network® to personal mobile customers giving them, and Telstra Air home broadband members, free and unlimited Wi-Fi data.
• June 2017: After just two years since its launch, Telstra Air grows to 1 million hotspots across Australia.