Networking & Wireless

Eduroam Expands to Support K–12 Schools, Libraries and Museums

• By David Nagel
• 07/09/21

Nonprofit Internet2 has launched eduroam Support Organizations, an effort to expand its wireless roaming service into K–12 schools, libraries and museums.

Eduroam is a worldwide WiFi roaming network developed for academic and research institutions. The new eduroam Support Organizations launched after an initial pilot involving 38 K–12 districts in Utah in 2020. Initial eduroam Support Organizations include the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN), Network Nebraska and Arizona's Sun Corridor Network.

"Our Utah K-12 eduroam program made network access and education resources readily available during the pandemic and showed off this robust and sustainable platform in both urban and rural deployments," said Jim Stewart, chief technology officer for UETN, in a prepared statement. "We've enjoyed a long collaboration with Internet2 and eduroam since this service was initially implemented by Utah universities several years ago."

According to Internet2, "eduroam is a secure, world-wide wireless roaming service developed for the international research and education community and is available in over 100 countries. In the US, more than 900 institutions have deployed eduroam and have made the offering available to their staff, students, faculty, and researchers. Unlike public WiFi, an eduroam user can quickly and seamlessly authenticate to eduroam WiFi with a single, secure credential. The eduroam user's device can automatically connect when visiting eduroam-enabled schools, libraries, museums, and other participating institutions. This is particularly important for students who live in rural areas where broadband access is limited, or who have inadequate or no access to broadband at home."

For more information, visit incommon.org.