Central city  |  27 Jun 2022

Share this story

Residents and visitors to Ōtautahi-Christchurch can now access free wi-fi in the central city thanks to a partnership between Christchurch City Council and fibre broadband provider Enable.

“With the borders opening to all travellers next month it’s the perfect time to be launching this new free Wi-Fi service. We hope to see the central city bustling with visitors and having them able to access fast, reliable and free internet will be a huge bonus,” says Christchurch City Council Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale.

“The Tīrama Mai lighting festival is in full swing, so it’s a great time for our residents to give the service a try while they’re in the central city.”

The Christchurch Free Wi-Fi service extends from the Bridge of Remembrance and along Oxford Terrace to Victoria Square, across to Colombo Street and back down Colombo Street to the Lichfield Street corner.

Enable recently put the network to the test with the help of Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery. On Friday 27 May about 60 students took part in a series of tests while walking the network coverage route.

“We expect students to take full advantage of this new free service. We hope they use it to access their learning or to create content when visiting the city – and, also to connect with friends, family and the world,” says Enable Chief Executive Johnathan Eele.

“It was fantastic to get a big group of future users out testing the network before we launched. The testing was a big success and has helped us get ready for today’s launch,” adds Mr Eele.

The Wi-Fi service is powered by Enable’s gigabit fibre broadband. Christchurch City Council assisted with the project delivery by providing Council infrastructure (such as streetlights) to install equipment on and utilising the Council’s existing internet connectivity.

People can now access the internet via their mobile devices by following these simple steps:

  • Ensure you are within the coverage area for the Wi-Fi network ‘Christchurch Free’
  • On your chosen device, select ‘Settings’ then ‘Wi-Fi’
  • Select the network ‘Christchurch Free’
  • You will be taken to a login page. By selecting ‘Get Online’ you agree to the Terms and Conditions.