World-class free Wi-Fi is coming to Christchurch City


Community-owned fibre broadband provider, Enable, and the Christchurch City Council are building a new Christchurch Free Wi-Fi service in central Christchurch as part of a shared smart city vision for making the central city a great place to visit. 

Christchurch Free Wi-Fi is built on gigabit Enable fibre broadband and will deliver a truly exceptional Wi-Fi experience for locals and visitors to Christchurch. This ultra-fast, super reliable and easy to use service is set to launch by 30 June 2022. 

“Enable is committed to maximising its fibre infrastructure to deliver financial and social returns to our community and support the realisation of new possibilities across our city,” says Enable Chief Executive, Johnathan Eele. 

“Providing what we believe will be a truly unique free Wi-Fi experience compared to other cities around New Zealand, due to the quality of the service, is one of the many ways we want to contribute to the growth and vitality of Christchurch.” 

High-quality free Wi-Fi is the cornerstone of a smart city, making it a desirable place for locals to spend time, supporting the city’s tourism industry, and making it an attractive location for major events and conferences. 

“We saw this as a great opportunity for the city and really appreciate the social good that Enable will help achieve for our residents. Having an efficient, reliable and fast public Wi-Fi network is a fundamental step in further promoting Ōtautahi-Christchurch as an innovative and progressive city,” says Christchurch City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale. 

“Free Wi-Fi provides open access to the digital network for all residents who spend time in the central city – not just those with data plans.” 

Christchurch Free Wi-Fi will extend 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.  

ChristchurchNZ General Manager Destination and Attraction Loren Heaphy says free Wi-Fi allows businesses and visitors to easily connect with one another.  

“With Te Pae (the new Christchurch convention centre) now open, this service is helping us move towards becoming a city that hosts national and international business events where conference delegates can easily do business. It also allows us to see where the hot spots in the city are for tourists so we can plan events and visitor information accordingly.” 

To deliver Christchurch Free Wi-Fi, Enable is installing equipment on existing Council street infrastructure such as traffic lights and streetlights. Enable’s fibre network will connect the access points to the Council’s internet service.  

Once the installation of the equipment and the testing phase is complete and the service launched, Christchurch Free Wi-Fi will be promoted to Christchurch residents and visitors. 

“Christchurch Free Wi-Fi will encourage locals and visitors to get out into the city and support our community to use and benefit from digital services when they may have limited or no connectivity options,” adds Mr Eele. 

“I urge residents to look out for the launch of Christchurch Free Wi-Fi and give it a try once it is up and running.