UPDATE - Jan 9th, 2023: Have had lots of issues with the Spinning Planet's sanson-free-wifi router going down regularly. Probem is now solved and I've increased download speed to 10 Mbits for the next month as compensation for it taking so long. Sorry for the inconvenience.
UPDATE - Nov 20th, 2022: The wifi units in Sanson are now end-of-life. Don't worry, they still work but now I'm working on upgrading thier firmware and migrating them to Open Source technology that will allow me to add more transmitters and features. Everything still works but there will be intermitant outages as I test. I'll only do this when there are few users using the system. Remember, sanson-free-wifi is "best effort". There is no garauntee of connection.
UPDATE - Sept 22nd, 2022: We're experiencing issues. I wil be replacing hardware over the next few days to make it work again. The only reliable Access Point is at Viv's Kitchen.
UPDATE - May 7th, 2022: Sanson now also has a free Satellite Base Station that is offered for free to Universities and researchers. See real-time stats here showing which satellites are connecting.
UPDATE - March 10th, 2022: Turangi has been approved funding to install 4 new antennas to increase their coverage.
UPDATE - January 27th, 2022: We supplied the gear so Turangi could have free wifi to. Find out more.
Sanson Free WiFi is supplied to residents and visitors by The Sasnon Community Committee and local businesses and residents.
Antenna Locations
- Viv's Kitchen - Home of the famous cream horn (New)
- Sanson Club - Our local RSA (New)
- The Sanson Playground - Weekend Craft Outdoor furniture
- Brooklyne Motels Caravan Park - Peter and Elaine's house (New)
- Behind Streetwise Coffeee - Back of Walter's building (New)
- Harris Lane Access Point - Jo's house
- Spinning Planet Limited - Corner of Fagan and Phillips Streets
- More coming soon
Present coverage map:

The free wifi is avaiable in the areas above as long as you have direct line-of-sight to a transmitter.
- Download speed is restricted to 2 Mbit which is fine for most Internet usage like Facebook, Internet Banking, Gmail and YouTube.
- All information on the WiFi network is anonymous and isolated. No one else on the wifi network can access your data so your connection is safe.
- Free wifi is available from 5.30AM to Midinight every day.
How to connect
When you're within range, this will pop up on your phone or computer - if it doesn't, go to your Wireless Settings and choose "sanson-free-wifi". A page will display on your device where you can click "Continue to the Internet". Once clicked you'll have full internet access. No personal information is requested.

No personal data is collected by this service. Here's an example of our Administration panel that just shows general statistics to help monitor the service. Spinning Planet presently manages the system and is an ethical business and respects your privacy and security:

FAMILY SAFETY
IN THE NEWS
Feilding-Rangitikei Herald
interview, August 17th, 2021
Interview with Jesse Mulligan
Radio NZ, August 18th, 2021: 1:40PM
RELIABILITY
There is no guarantee for this service, though, we try to make it as reliable as possible. As we bring on new Access Points with antennas mounted on Businesses and Homes there may be interuptions of not more than an hour.
Apprentice
This project is an extention of what David Pickles started in 2005 and was taken over by Brynn Neilson in 2015. Eventually, someone will have to take over from Brynn. If you'd like to help out and learn how the system works. Please contact us.
Development
- New AP will be installed, after recent Covid Lockdown, to the back of the building behind Streetwise Coffee Cart to supply internet access to houses on Hedges Street
- Working on new solar powered units to make AP installs quicker
- Presently liaisng with Education New Zealand to give schools access to thier resources at non-restricted speeds
Again, none of this is done for profit. We do it because we think it should be done and eveyone should have basic Internet access for education and essential things like Internet banking. Please be patient. we're building and funding this project with money and support from the Sanson Community Committee and local businesses.
community Coverage

What we've done so far is amazing but we want to expand WiFi coverage to include everyone in our rural community. Our small village is in the news because we care about each other, we're a community sharing where we can for the benefit of all of us. Please support local businesses that are helping us do this and be patient as we increase coverage.
If you have any questions, please contact the manager of this community project:
Brynn Neilson