And Then There Were 5: Internet2 Announces New eduroam Support Organizations

Connecticut Education Network (CEN) and Link Oregon join the program to help bridge the digital divide for K-12 schools, libraries, museums, and more with eduroam global Wi-Fi

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Internet2 announced today the latest state research and education (R&E) networks to join the eduroam Support Organizations program: Connecticut Education Network (CEN) and Link Oregon. The program expands access to the eduroam global Wi-Fi roaming service across community anchor institutions – K-12 schools, libraries, and museums – with a reach that now includes five states spanning coast to coast in the U.S.

eduroam is the secure, worldwide roaming wireless service developed by and for the international R&E community and is available in more than 100 countries. Internet2 is the operator of eduroam in the U.S., with more than 1,000 eduroam-subscribing organizations supporting millions of students, faculty, researchers, and staff across the country. 

With input from the research and education community, Internet2 transitioned eduroam's U.S. infrastructure to a cloud-forward architecture in 2021, boosting resiliency and scalability to better support the growth driven by the Support Organizations.

"The eduroam Support Organizations program is cultivating a cohort of leading organizations in the research and education network community that have the capabilities, capacity, and collaborative spirit needed to contribute to the expansion of eduroam access throughout the U.S.," said Kevin Morooney, vice president of trust and identity & NET+ cloud services at Internet2. "The unique promise of eduroam lies in its ever-increasing ubiquity. We're over the moon about the momentum the Support Organizations are creating to bring access to all students in their states. The power of a community coming together to solve shared problems is on full display with these efforts."

The more participants in eduroam, the more powerful the network, and the bigger the benefits for all.

In April 2022, CEN and Link Oregon put forth proposals to extend the reach of eduroam throughout their states by joining the Support Organizations program. Over the next year, they will participate in an on-ramp process, giving them the opportunity to deploy the eduroam service to a small number of locations in preparation to scale more broadly next year. Program participants learn from each other, work together to solve shared challenges, and leverage their existing relationships with K-12 schools, libraries, and museums to address scaling challenges and better serve these communities through eduroam access.

"Our entire team at Link Oregon is very excited to be recognized by Internet2 as the eduroam Support Organization for Oregon and to have this opportunity to extend the multiple benefits of seamless Wi-Fi roaming to our partners in the K-12, public library, and museum sectors," said Steve Corbató, executive director of Link Oregon. "This work will leverage a successful demonstration project led by our founding member Oregon State University, together with the Linn-Benton-Lincoln Education Service District and the Albany and Corvallis School Districts."

"CEN is excited to become an eduroam Support Organization and continue to promote secure and seamless Wi-Fi across Connecticut's community anchor institutions," said Ryan Kocsondy, director of CEN. "CEN will be building on the success of the governor's EveryBody Learns initiative which launched a public Wi-Fi service during the pandemic and utilized eduroam as one of the SSIDs. CEN will partner with members of the CT Commission of Educational Technology on continued eduroam expansion, building on the pilot success at numerous public school districts and libraries."

CEN and Link Oregon join three other participating organizations: the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN), which collaborated with Internet2 on a pilot of the eduroam Support Organizations program in 2020, along with Arizona's Sun Corridor Network and ConnectEd Nebraska, which both joined a scaling pilot of the program in 2021. 

• Where can you roam? View a map of eduroam connectors in the U.S. and worldwide.
• 10 Fun Facts to Celebrate 1,000 eduroam Subscribers in the U.S.
• Learn more about the eduroam Support Organizations program for regional and statewide organizations. 
• Do you or your institution #love2eduroam? Tag us @Internet2 and share your experience! 

Five state and regional R&E networks currently participate in the eduroam Support Organizations program. The program provides tailored features for the eduroam service that include a scalable deployment model, training, resources, and ongoing support to build the eduroam expertise of the broader R&E community.

ConnectEd Nebraska – ConnectEd Nebraska aims to improve connectivity for students by deploying eduroam Wi-Fi to all members of the statewide educational network, Network Nebraska. This collaboration between the Nebraska Department of Education, State of Nebraska Office of the CIO, Network Nebraska, Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council, and the University of Nebraska began in 2021 when Nebraska and Arizona joined Utah to become the next states to bring the global eduroam wireless network to K-12 schools. For more information, visit https://connectednebraska.com/ or https://networknebraska.ne.gov/. 

Connecticut Education Network (CEN) – CEN's primary focus has been and continues to be meeting the needs of Connecticut's community anchor institutions including education, health care, research organizations, municipal and state government facilities, public libraries, public safety facilities, and businesses. CEN is committed to meeting the needs of these organizations, large and small, public and private, in every town and city, with unmatched performance, reliability, value, and service. CEN, Connecticut's Trusted Internet Partner, provides the backbone for community growth and development across the state.

Link Oregon – Link Oregon — a consortium of Oregon's four largest research universities (Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon) and the State of Oregon's Enterprise Information Services (EIS) unit — provides high-speed, fiber-optic broadband connectivity and shared network services to Oregon's public and non-profit sectors including K-12 and higher education institutions, libraries, Tribes, public healthcare facilities, remote state offices, and other public and non-profit organizations. Link Oregon's high-capacity network will eventually serve more than 600+ organizations across the state, making it easier for these entities to collaborate, share information, and deliver services to Oregon residents and visitors.

Sun Corridor Network (SCN) – SCN, Arizona's research and education network, currently serves the three state universities and other educational institutions across the state of Arizona. SCN's mission is to connect every school, library, community anchor, healthcare organization, and public service agency in the state of Arizona with secure, high-capacity, responsive, available, and affordable broadband services by being a steward of public infrastructure investment and middle mile infrastructure and leveraging existing infrastructure with public and private partners to maximize connectivity throughout the state of Arizona.

Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN) – UETN provides state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure and other services to schools, colleges, libraries, and healthcare facilities throughout the state. UETN provides a robust, reliable network connecting more than 1,800 locations.

Internet2® is a non-profit, member-driven advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 serves 323 U.S. universities, 59 government agencies, 46 regional and state education networks and through them supports more than 80,000 community anchor institutions, over 1,000 InCommon participants, and 54 leading corporations working with our community, and 70 national research and education network operators that represent more than 100 countries.

Internet2 delivers a diverse portfolio of technology solutions that leverages, integrates, and amplifies the strengths of its members and helps support their educational, research, and community service missions. Internet2's core infrastructure components include the nation's largest and fastest research and education network that was built to deliver advanced, customized services that are accessed and secured by the community-developed trust and identity framework.

Internet2 offices are located in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Denver, Colo.; Washington, D.C.; and West Hartford, Conn. For more information, visit https://internet2.edu or follow @Internet2 on Twitter.

SOURCE Internet2