MANCHESTER, UK - A new Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) case study reveals how Newcastle City Council and Purple have delivered one of the UK's most comprehensive city-wide OpenRoaming deployments, transforming Newcastle's public WiFi from a collection of disconnected hotspots into a single, secure digital infrastructure.
Led by Newcastle City Council and powered by Purple, the network now spans civic, cultural, educational, transit and commercial spaces across the city, from libraries, museums and community hubs to council buildings, streets and public spaces. Powered by OpenRoaming, users connect once and move seamlessly between hundreds of locations without repeated logins or captive portals, serving around 300,000 residents, a wider metropolitan population of more than 840,000, and a regional catchment of 1.7 million people within a 30-minute drive.
The results, measured as of May 2026, show OpenRoaming has become the primary way people connect across the city. The network recorded 786,817 total logins, with 92% completed through OpenRoaming or Purple SecurePass, and a 95% repeat visitor retention rate, the equivalent of 2.6 sessions for every resident in the city.
Beyond the numbers, the deployment is helping to close the digital divide. By providing secure, free connectivity across libraries, community hubs and public spaces, the city is helping residents who may not have reliable internet at home to access education, employment, government services and other essential resources.
The vision continues to expand beyond municipal venues, with Purple now working with the Tyne and Wear Metro on an OpenRoaming pilot that extends seamless authentication into the region's transportation network, a further step toward a fully connected urban mobility experience.
"The results show people are using this network and coming back to it, but what matters most is who it reaches. Secure connectivity across libraries, community hubs, and public spaces means that a resident without a reliable connection at home can still access the services they need. Newcastle City Council treated connectivity as public infrastructure rather than a nice-to-have, and made sure it worked for everyone in the city."
- Gavin Wheeldon, CEO, Purple
"Purple WiFi has been a fantastic addition to Newcastle, providing seamless, reliable and easy to access free WiFi that benefits residents, visitors and local businesses alike. It demonstrates our commitment to creating a smarter, more connected city."
- Jenny Nelson, Assistant Director - Customer Contact, ICT & Digital Transformation, City Operations, Transport & Neighbourhoods Directorate, Newcastle City Council
"Newcastle is a great example of how OpenRoaming can transform public WiFi into secure, seamless digital infrastructure that works for everyone. WBA is proud to provide the global standard that enables cities, technology providers and connectivity partners to collaborate and deliver this kind of experience at scale. We congratulate Newcastle City Council and Purple on this successful deployment and hope it will inspire more cities and partners around the world to embrace OpenRoaming, accelerate digital inclusion and build more connected communities."
- Tiago Rodrigues, President and CEO, Wireless Broadband Alliance
The full case study, produced by the Wireless Broadband Alliance in partnership with Newcastle City Council, is available to download now at wballiance.com.
