The fully supported service will be free for users 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be of such high quality that it will be able to support streaming services such as BBC iPlayer.
City of York Council will for the first time be able to gain access to helpful data from the network, such as footfall and how public spaces in the centre are being used.
Businesses will also be able to subscribe to the service to enable them to gain further insight into their customer base. They will be able to target real time discounts and special offers to customers.
Purple WiFi was selected for its expertise in Social WiFi, advanced analytics packages and accessible approach, which will encourage the people of York and its visitors to get online easily and safely. Purple WiFi's cloud-based Social WiFi offering also allows the city to engage directly via social media platforms and use Purple WiFi's Purple Portal to gather data and improve commercial opportunities for local businesses, including advertising and sponsorship.
Gavin Wheeldon, CEO, Purple WiFi comments: "Purple WiFi is delighted to be part of City of York's WiFi offering, along with our trusted partners Pinacl Solutions and Ruckus Wireless. We are currently experiencing an explosion in interest for city-wide WiFi implementations. WiFi is clearly an essential part of any city's journey to becoming a ‘Smart City'. As we see the Internet of Things really begin to take off, the demand for ubiquitous city-wide WiFi is only going to increase, with cities planning everything from how to engage the high street, to directing people in WiFi enabled cars to the nearest available parking spot. Purple WiFi will help the City of York to drive engagement and offer flexible and timely updates to residents and tourists alike."
Mark Lowe, Strategic Relationship Director, Pinacl explained "We are delighted to be working on this exciting opportunity, we have a proven ability in wireless solutions and the way in which we work closely with our partners, Ruckus and Purple WiFi we will be offering a quality and easy to use WiFi service. Local businesses will also be able to benefit from commercial opportunities advertising and sponsoring the WiFi service - a chance to target the 7 million visitors to York each year."