New eduroam provides no-charge Wi-Fi for traveling researchers and students

Texas A&M University faculty, staff and current students can now connect to wireless Internet at many universities around the globe at no charge. Education Roaming, or eduroam, is a secure, wireless network service that users can easily access with login credentials from their home institution. Texas A&M is the first university in Texas to provide this service.

Spanning over 30 countries and hundreds of universities worldwide, eduroam facilitates international scholarly activities and research collaborations. Faculty and staff traveling overseas and students studying abroad can connect their mobile devices at no charge at participating universities. Visitors from these institutions can log in to Texas A&M's eduroam without a guest account.

"International Internet access through eduroam is an important component in achieving a world-class IT environment," said Pierce Cantrell, Vice President and Associate Provost for Information Technology. "The eduroam service assists our researchers and students to work and study more effectively as part of an interconnected, networked world."

The new service supports Texas A&M's goal of providing students with high-impact international learning experiences. Jane Flaherty, director of the Study Abroad Programs Office said, "Texas A&M offering eduroam to students while abroad once again demonstrates the university’s commitment to supporting international educational opportunities for all students. This is a tremendous resource that will make going abroad more feasible."

The need for mobile Internet access while studying abroad is vital, some students said. "It's refreshing to know that with eduroam finding Wi-Fi in a foreign country won't be an issue. It's important for me to stay connect to my friends, family and school," said communications major Jacklyn Rodriguez. History major Rachel Grmela noted, "I will have a stable connection when working on homework and research for my classes, as well as regularly contacting friends and family back home."

Setting up eduroam is similar to TAMULink wireless, except for logging in with 'your NetID@tamu.edu' as the username. Travelling faculty, staff and students can configure their wireless devices locally and connect in locations supported by eduroam.

While on the Texas A&M campus, students, faculty and staff should continue to use TAMULink even though eduroam is available for connecting to the Internet. Texas A&M's eduroam should be reserved for visitors. See eduroam instructions on the Help Desk Central website. Maps of eduroam locations can be viewed at eduroam.org site.

Networking & Information Security, a department of Texas A&M Information Technology, provides eduroam for the university. If you have questions about eduroam, contact Help Desk Central at 979.845.8300 or helpdesk@tamu.edu.