100% Digital Leeds has partnered with technology charity Jangala to support Leeds residents on low incomes to access wifi in their homes, free of charge. Jangala’s Get Box UK programme, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, supplies community organisations with free ‘plug in and go’ wifi solutions to distribute to people unable to afford wifi.
“Get Box has proved to be an invaluable resource. For people with limited resources making it difficult to afford internet access, this was definitely a lifesaver.”
Community Ambition CIC
Get Boxes provide 25GB of connectivity per month for twelve months. The boxes are powered by a VMO2 SIM card and can be used anywhere that has access to mains power and mobile phone signal. To date more than 30 community organisations have signed up to the scheme. Current partners include St Anne’s, Leeds Refugee Forum, Gipsil, and Community Ambition.
100% Digital Leeds and Jangala are keen to partner with more community organisations to support people experiencing data poverty to access free wifi in their homes.
“We at Jangala always want to work with and support local community groups and charities that are helping those at the sharp end of digital exclusion. 100% Digital Leeds has connected us with groups around the city who are doing remarkable work for the people of Leeds, and we hope that our technology can play a part in helping people to thrive online.”
Samantha Neville, UK Programme Manager at Jangala.
Combatting data poverty
Jangala is a technology charity working internationally, with the goal of connecting four million digitally excluded people to the internet by 2030. Originally starting out at the refugee camp in Calais, Jangala has expanded to take an additional focus on digital poverty across the UK by partnering with third sector organisations and local authorities to distribute Get Boxes to households struggling to pay their broadband or mobile data bill.
Digital exclusion and poverty go hand in hand, Fabian society analysis of Ofcom data found that households with very low incomes were twice as likely to be without internet access. Research from Citizen’s Advice suggests that in 2023 as many as one million people cut off their broadband as the cost-of-living crisis left them unable to afford internet access.
Being offline compounds poverty. Shopping online is often a lot cheaper, with research showing that people purchasing online save around 25% on average per transaction. In addition, lack of internet access puts people at a strong disadvantage while looking for work, as 90% of all jobs are solely advertised on the internet. This means people without access to the internet are being pushed further into deep poverty.
The benefits of Get Box
Get Boxes are a simple and efficient way for organisations to support their service users with free wifi at home for 12 months:
- Get Boxes are free of charge to both organisations and their service users.
- Get Boxes can be used anywhere that has access to mains power and mobile phone signal.
- Community organisations can distribute Get Boxes to anyone who is struggling to afford wifi at home.
- 100% Digital Leeds can visit organisations with a tester Get Box to demonstrate how it works and to test the phone signal in their location.
- Organisations can request as few or as many Get Boxes as they require, and order more if needed.
- Get Boxes are quick and easy to set up, and Jangala have provided instructions in video and manual form, in English, Arabic, Spanish, French and large text format, as well as a dedicated support section on their website.
- Where people might struggle to set up the device themselves, Get Box can be set up by the charity before they hand it out. Get Box then just needs to be plugged in at home and in two minutes the wifi will start working.
- It’s simple to connect a device to the Get Box wifi. The password and a QR code are printed on the box of each Get Box.
- Organisations can contact Jangala for technical support if needed.
- Users of the Get Box can view how much data they have left for the month by connecting their device to the Get Box and scanning the QR code on the box they are using or going to http://config.getbox.home.
- Jangala understands that some Get Boxes may get broken or go missing. If this happens there is no consequence to the community organisation who has distributed Get Box, or the service user it has been provided to.
100% Digital Leeds’s partnership with Jangala
100% Digital Leeds is supporting Jangala to connect with local organisations who support digitally excluded people across the city, making it as simple as possible for charities to ensure those most in need are able to get online at home.
The 100% Digital Leeds team has worked with Jangala to define a referral process for VCSE organisations that would like to lend Get Boxes to their service users.
100% Digital Leeds works with community organisations to:
- Demonstrate Get Box and how it works.
- Explain Jangala’s offer and their requirements for partnership.
- Ensure the Get Box offer fits with the organisation’s wider digital inclusion offer.
- Ensure wraparound support is in place.
To date 100% Digital Leeds and Jangala have supported more than 30 community organisations across the city to distribute Get Boxes to Leeds residents unable to afford wifi. This list includes small community organisations and city wide and regional charities, supporting low-income individuals experiencing data poverty.
Gipsil are distributing Get Boxes via their Engage Leeds Employment and Engagement Service. The service helps people explore job opportunities, education, and training, providing tailored support with CV writing, job applications, finding work experience, volunteering, and accessing learning opportunities. 100% Digital Leeds has also supported Gipsil to access a grant from AWS to buy laptops to gift to service users alongside the Get Boxes.
Otley Action For Older People have placed Get Boxes in communal areas in social housing, free for any residents to use, as well as making them available for the regular digital sessions delivered by their Digital Inclusion worker. Residents have been accessing the wifi to call relatives across the world, use the NHS app, and the communal space has given residents the opportunity to get together and teach each other digital skills such as how to use WhatsApp.
‘Our Community Wifi’: Jangala’s Big Box Scheme
Jangala have recently launched a pilot programme in the UK, Our Community Wifi, to provide organisations with a Big Box. This is a larger, more powerful box designed to provide wifi to community centres that have a large footfall. The Big Box can connect 1,000 users at one time with unlimited wifi. 100% Digital Leeds has supported organisations to apply for this opportunity alongside Get Boxes. Applications for a Big Box are open until midnight on Sunday 4 May 2025.
How your organisation can partner with Jangala
If you are a community organisation in Leeds interested in Get Boxes or a Big Box, or would like support with your organisation’s digital inclusion offer, please contact 100% Digital Leeds.