diff --git a/group_vars/matrix_servers b/group_vars/matrix_servers
index dc96c2099..dcc06d8d7 100755
--- a/group_vars/matrix_servers
+++ b/group_vars/matrix_servers
@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ matrix_mautrix_telegram_systemd_required_services_list: |
 
 matrix_mautrix_telegram_public_endpoint: "/{{ matrix_synapse_macaroon_secret_key | password_hash('sha512', 'telegram') | to_uuid }}"
 
+matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_http_host_bind_port: "{{ '' if matrix_nginx_proxy_enabled else '127.0.0.1:9006' }}"
+
 ######################################################################
 #
 # /matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram
diff --git a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/defaults/main.yml b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/defaults/main.yml
index 9e5ede91f..c0f3b0a0f 100644
--- a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/defaults/main.yml
@@ -21,8 +21,10 @@ matrix_mautrix_telegram_homeserver_domain: '{{ matrix_domain }}'
 matrix_mautrix_telegram_appservice_address: 'http://matrix-mautrix-telegram:8080'
 matrix_mautrix_telegram_appservice_public_external: 'https://{{ matrix_server_fqn_matrix }}{{ matrix_mautrix_telegram_public_endpoint }}'
 
-# Set this to a port number to expose on the host when not using matrix-nginx-proxy
-matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_exposed_port_number: ~
+# Controls whether the matrix-telegram container exposes its HTTP port (tcp/8080 in the container).
+#
+# Takes an "<ip>:<port>" or "<port>" value (e.g. "127.0.0.1:9006"), or empty string to not expose.
+matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_http_host_bind_port: ''
 
 # A list of extra arguments to pass to the container
 matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_extra_arguments: []
diff --git a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/setup_install.yml b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/setup_install.yml
index 59b95550e..3b65a33dc 100644
--- a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/setup_install.yml
+++ b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/setup_install.yml
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
         	proxy_pass http://$backend;
         {% else %}
         	{# Generic configuration for use outside of our container setup #}
-        	proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
+        	proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9006;
         {% endif %}
         }
 
diff --git a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/validate_config.yml b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/validate_config.yml
index fac59c9ff..d30be92e2 100644
--- a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/validate_config.yml
+++ b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/tasks/validate_config.yml
@@ -9,3 +9,12 @@
     - "matrix_mautrix_telegram_api_id"
     - "matrix_mautrix_telegram_api_hash"
     - "matrix_mautrix_telegram_public_endpoint"
+
+- name: (Deprecation) Catch and report renamed Telegram variables
+  fail:
+    msg: >-
+      Your configuration contains a variable, which now has a different name.
+      Please change your configuration to rename the variable (`{{ item.old }}` -> `{{ item.new }}`).
+  when: "item.old in vars"
+  with_items:
+    - {'old': 'matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_exposed_port_number', 'new': '<superseded by matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_http_host_bind_port>'}
diff --git a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/templates/systemd/matrix-mautrix-telegram.service.j2 b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/templates/systemd/matrix-mautrix-telegram.service.j2
index 18d8a7ede..c47ad8666 100644
--- a/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/templates/systemd/matrix-mautrix-telegram.service.j2
+++ b/roles/matrix-bridge-mautrix-telegram/templates/systemd/matrix-mautrix-telegram.service.j2
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run --rm --name matrix-mautrix-telegram \
 			--user={{ matrix_user_uid }}:{{ matrix_user_gid }} \
 			--cap-drop=ALL \
 			--network={{ matrix_docker_network }} \
-			{% if matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_exposed_port_number is not none %}
-			-p 127.0.0.1:{{ matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_exposed_port_number }}:8080 \
+			{% if matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_http_host_bind_port %}
+			-p {{ matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_http_host_bind_port }}:8080 \
 			{% endif %}
 			-v {{ matrix_mautrix_telegram_base_path }}:/data:z \
 			{% for arg in matrix_mautrix_telegram_container_extra_arguments %}