By Stephanie Bergeron Kinch, Wi-Fi NOW Staff Writer
A new public Wi-Fi project is linking Eduroam and Govroam services in London, U.K. to serve up city-wide free Internet access for staff and students from the National Healthcare System (NHS), multiple branches of local government, and universities.
With millions of users worldwide, Eduroam has long since been the flagship case for how to bring simple & effective Wi-Fi roaming services to students and academic staff. The similar but more recent Govroam service is now expanding the concept to government employees.
Now the ‘Connectivity over London’ project is bringing the two services together for the first time – and the collaboration could usher in a new era of highly cost-efficient wireless connectivity.
Collaboration extends coverage
The project has been kicked off by encouraging public spaces to broadcast Eduroam and Govroam SSIDs simultaneously. Both services allow users to connect securely to Wi-Fi networks at public service locations around London. By broadcasting both SSIDs students and local government staff can have access to a much wider coverage area.
Eduroam is widely used by visiting researchers and students from around the world while Govroam is a similar (Radius-authenticated & secure) Wi-Fi service for public officials.
“Through this common-sense collaboration, public servants will be able to work together and in much more mobile and effective ways across locations, enabling them to meet Londoners’ needs better,” says Theo Blackwell, London’s Chief Digital Officer.
Next Steps
The Connectivity Over London project has completed a pilot phase in London with the NHS, local authorities, police, government, higher education, and charities. For the next phase the project will expand to further education, other non-profit organisations, and the fire brigade.
Both Eduroam and Govroam are free for end users. For participating networks, there is also no cost other than that of configuring the local Wi-Fi network for the service.
Click here for more information on how to get involved in the project as a provider.
/Stephanie