Free public wi-fi connections double in a year

Council officials admit there was very poor connectivity in Sunderland 5 years ago

Use of free public WiFi across a city has more than doubled in just over a year, with students driving the rise.

There were 52,059 connections to the service in Sunderland in August 2024, up from an average of approximately 25,000 in the months April to June 2023.

Sunderland City Council scrutiny committee heard more than a third of those connections were by students.

Liz St Louis, director of Smart Cities, a programme to increase investment in digital infrastructure, said the project was going “very well" from "very poor connectivity in Sunderland five years ago".

Free, superfast public Wi-Fi has been available at Keel Square and High Street West since December 2019.

It was extended out to the coast between Roker and Seaburn six months later.

The rollout has continued in 2024 with the number of access points tripling.

Ms Louis said: "Every time more government funding comes out, or every time we can work with the private sector to get more funding, we are constantly building those networks."

She said there are "no barriers" in place for people to access the free wi-fi in the city centre, with no sign up needed.

The local authority is seeking to expand wi-fi into the Washington and Coalfield areas, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The meeting was also told "The Sunderland App", which gives information about services and events in the city, has had nearly 4,000 downloads since it became available in September.