A free Wi-Fi service is being piloted on the Tyne and Wear Metro, improving the digital experience for customers.
It is the first ever public Wi-Fi service on Metro - and if successful then it could be made available at other busy underground Metro stations.
The new Metro Connect network allows customers to access data and get online without any charge, quickly and easily through the Pop App.
The roll out has begun with an initial three-month pilot at Central Metro Station in Newcastle city centre, which started on Monday 8 December.
It will offer a much-improved mobile service for getting real time Metro service updates on the Pop App at a station where the 4G and 5G signal is limited.
Steve Duchar, Head of ICT at Nexus, said: “We’re really excited to be piloting the Tyne and Wear Metro’s first ever free Wi-Fi service, which is going to really improve the digital experience for thousands of our customers.
“Better connectivity at our underground Metro stations is something that customers really want to see, and we’re now able to start delivering that through this initial trial of the Metro Connect Wi-Fi at Central Station.
“We understand how important it is for people to stay connected while they are on the move. Metro Connect will provide customers with fast and easy access to data with their smartphones and tablets. It’ll transform how they can browse for key information and get real time service updates through our Pop App when they need it.
“We see strong data connectivity on Metro trains and at most of the stations across the system, but the busy underground stations could be better and often struggle to get any 4G or 5G connection at all, other than with EE. Wi-Fi remedies this issue.
“If the trial proves successful with high customer demand, then we could look at rolling out Wi-Fi to other key Metro stations which currently have poor digital connectivity.”
Metro Connect will allow customers to make Wi-Fi calls, browse the internet, and send text and WhatsApp messages from the station platforms and in the ticket concourse at Central.
The quickest method to access the free Wi-Fi is through the Pop App.
Customers can also connect through the app belonging to the service provider, Purple, by launching their own browser and following the instructions on the landing page by selecting the 'Metro Connect' network when prompted, or by going into Wi-Fi settings on their mobile device.
When accessing the free Wi-Fi customers will have to go through a short registration process.
We will carefully monitor the Wi-Fi scheme’s success to assess if it can be rolled out to other sub-surface Metro stations, including Monument, Haymarket, Jesmond, St James and Gateshead – all of which serve the busy central underground area on the system.
The Metro Connect Wi-Fi is filtered to ensure indecent and inappropriate material is being blocked from access to make browsing the web safe for customers.