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The Newcastle City Council has announced the launch of a pilot scheme with digital connectivity provider Purple, which will see an “extensive city-wide Wi-Fi” network being rolled out for residents, students and visitors to help them connect to the internet. The service is expected to be free to access.
The new wireless network is expected to be deployed across Council buildings and other participating venues, including gyms, libraries, commercial buildings and public spaces. Users will be able to “connect once and roam freely across hundreds of hotspots without repeated logins“, thanks to the use of Purple’s associated ConneX App.
To accelerate adoption, Purple is also giving away £120,000 of free Wi-Fi hardware and licenses to 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses.
Cllr. Paul Frew, Newcastle City Council, said:
“Even with near-universal broadband coverage, not everyone can afford reliable access on the go. We’ve used government funding to improve our free public Wi-Fi offer to improve performance for residents, and this new partnership will enable us to further tackle digital poverty and give residents free access in more places. This project is about fairness as much as technology.
Seamless, free connectivity helps level the playing field, ensuring no one in Newcastle is left behind in the digital age. It also supports our ambitions to be more evidence-led and data-driven. The insights gained by working with Purple will allow us to better understand people’s use of public Wi-Fi and how we can deliver the best possible service for residents, businesses and visitors.”