Internet2 Program Helps Bridge Digital Divide For K-12 Districts, Libraries, and Museums With Eduroam WiFi

• Network Nebraska and Arizona’s Sun Corridor Network Join a New, Streamlined Program to Provide Secure Eduroam Wifi for Their K-12, Library, and Museum Constituents.

Internet2 announced the launch of the eduroam Support Organizations, aimed at enabling regional and state-wide organizations in deploying eduroam to K-12 schools, libraries, and museums. Network Nebraska and the Sun Corridor Network are the newest eduroam Support Organizations following a successful pilot program with the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN).

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.

“eduroam is our most popular service institutions across the research and higher education community here in the US, and many of our connectors saw great opportunity in scaling the service and expanding access to eduroam across community anchor institutions,” said Sara Jeanes, eduroam product manager at Internet2. “We’ve designed eduroam support organizations based on a successful pilot program to provide tailored features that include a scalable deployment model, training, resources, and ongoing support to build the expertise of the broader research and education community.”

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.

“Due to collaborative efforts between state agencies and the University of Nebraska, we are able to bring the ConnectEd Nebraska program to our K-12 schools,” said State CIO, Ed Toner.  “Recent FCC data indicates 12 percent of Nebraskans under the age of 18 do not have access to a reliable Internet connection at home, showing that Nebraska’s students rely more heavily on their schools for access to the Internet, reinforcing the importance of eduroam.”

“Sun Corridor is proud to be part of the eduroam community and helping to bridge the digital divide. This secure, world-wide roaming access enables students, researchers, and staff from participating institutions to obtain Internet connectivity across campus,” added Derek Masseth, executive director, Sun Corridor Network. “Our trusted, secure network empowers higher education, K-12, research institutions, government entities, and cultural organizations by providing connectivity across campus and when visiting other participating institutions by simply opening their laptop or mobile device.”

Internet2 and a leadership team from UETN worked on a pilot project in 2020 to test and improve the eduroam Support Organizations concept. UETN successfully deployed eduroam to 38 K-12 school districts in Utah, as well as numerous libraries, museums, and on public transit around the state.

“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. “We’ve enjoyed a long collaboration with Internet2 and eduroam since this service was initially implemented by Utah universities several years ago.”

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