Bridging the digital equity gap by extending eduroam

Extend connectivity securely with Jisc’s eduroam. Students and staff can now enjoy safe, reliable internet access in off-campus locations, improving digital inclusivity across the UK.

The shift to blended learning across the education sector has made it more important than ever before for students to be able to connect to their programme resources anytime, anywhere. However, the gap in digital equity is leaving many students disadvantaged by their limited access to basic connectivity.

Compare, for example, a student whose only means of connecting to the internet is at the local library which requires travel and a potentially unreliable connection, and a student with a sizeable phone contract giving them access to endless data wherever they are.

The differences in their opportunities to access resources, collaborate online, and study remotely is vast. Add into that the risks of using some freely available wifis and the digital equity gap widens even furthers.

Extending connectivity with eduroam

To ensure students and staff stay connected wherever they are, Jisc developed a solution to extend eduroam – the secure, world-wide roaming service already used widely across UK education. The extending eduroam services brings connectivity to places where it hasn’t been possible before via 4G and 5G cellular connectivity.

The solution is a Jisc-managed cloud service supported via Cradlepoint (now part of Ericsson) NetCloud Manager platform. It provides a fast, agile, and secure way for users to authenticate and access eduroam across the UK with their devices, such as laptops and phones.

eduroam expands the places where learners can connect, with approximately 560 organisations across the UK offering the service from more than 2,000 eduroam hotspots.

Addressing the digital equity gap

Extending eduroam has made connectivity available in student accommodation, libraries, and other public buildings off-campus.

For example, Bridgend College students working at the horse stables now enjoy seamless connectivity.

"We literally plugged it in, and it worked. I very rarely give it a second thought because it just works. Without extending eduroam, we would have had to use dongles running off data with a separate log in. The confidence I have in the connectivity comes from the relationship we have with Jisc – I trust them.” Scott Morgan, head of digital innovation and IT services, Bridgend College.

Jisc has also enabled govroam at more than 500 public sector sites in Kent and Medway, providing effortless eduroam connectivity to council offices, community centres, fire stations, hospitals, and more. This initiative also increases the number of locations where learners at local colleges can connect, as eduroam is also available at libraries across Kent.

Replicating this across the UK could greatly benefit learners who do not have an internet connection at home, have poor broadband access, or cannot afford data roaming costs.

Cutting IT department workload and costs

eduroam accommodates all mobile connectivity requirements for organisations without burdening an organisation's IT resources. Since eduroam operates separately from the main network, it has no impact, reducing the IT department's workload.

It also improves the security of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) wireless infrastructures. The ability to effectively protect, monitor and audit traffic on the network is essential for safeguarding, and eduroam gives institutions “identifiable oversight” when individuals connect using their own devices.

Any organisation connected to the Janet Network is eligible to use Jisc’s eduroam service as part of its Jisc membership.

What’s next?

The benefits of extending connectivity beyond campus boundaries are significant and far-reaching.
During the successful innovation proof-of-concept phase, students and staff benefited from extending eduroam in a various off-campus teaching and learning, locations:

Hospitals
Libraries
Sports grounds
Equine centre
Coffee shop
Student houses
Arts exhibition space
Classrooms
Research facility
Conference centre

Explore the benefits of extending eduroam and learn about Jisc’s exciting new innovations at Security Conference 2024, taking place from 26 – 27 November at ICC Wales and online on 28 November.

To find out more, visit https://www.jisc.ac.uk/extending-eduroam.