BCNET News
Prince George International Airport is First Airport in Canada to Take Flight with eduroam
Prince George International Airport (YXS) is the first airport in Canada to offer eduroam (education roaming), which securely connects mobile students, faculty, staff and researchers around the world to the internet.
This is ground-breaking territory for Canada’s higher education and research community, opening up new possibilities to seamlessly and securely connect with academic and research activities while on the move. Travelling students, faculty, staff and researchers from any participating Canadian or international institution, including the region’s University of Northern British Columbia, College of New Caledonia and Northern Lights College, can now seamlessly and securely access the free Wi-Fi network at YXS, just as they would at their home campus.
Prince George Airport
Expanding eduroam FREE Wi-Fi Service for Higher Ed and Research
BCNET is partnering with municipalities, public libraries, school districts and airports to offer eduroam across British Columbia, extending the free, secure internet service for its membership of colleges, universities and institutes.
“We are helping to bridge the digital divide by expanding the eduroam Wi-Fi service at public locations in British Columbia,” said Bala Kathiresan, president and CEO of BCNET. “By partnering with the Prince George International Airport and CANARIE, the operator of eduroam in Canada, we have opened another free Wi-Fi hotspot for higher education and research to securely and seamlessly connect, a first in Canada.”
eduroam is now available at 188 locations in B.C. and 453 sites across Canada., with YXS breaking new ground in Canada, offering greater convenience for travellers.
eduroam (education roaming) is a secure, global, Wi-Fi roaming service developed by the international research and education community available in more than 100 countries and 30,000 locations worldwide, including airports, train stations and even vending machines. eduroam is based on the most secure encryption and authentication standards in existence today, with security measures far exceeding typical commercial hotspots.
Helping the Northern Community Stay Connected
"As part of our efforts to build community and promote connectivity at the Prince George Airport, we worked with BCNET and CANARIE to offer convenient and secure internet access for travelling students, faculty and staff,” said Gordon Duke, President and CEO of the Prince George Airport Authority. “eduroam is helping our community stay connected when travelling to and from Prince George.”
eduroam FREE Wi-Fi Service in 106 Countries
Operated by CANARIE - 10 Million Logins per Month
In Canada, the eduroam service is managed and operated by CANARIE, BCNET’s federal partner in Canada’s National Research and Education Network (NREN), which supports more than 10 million eduroam logins per month. The connection comes as CANARIE and its provincial and territorial partners in the NREN, including BCNET in British Columbia, look to expand the reach of eduroam to more public spaces.
“Helping students, faculty, and staff stay connected is the foundational value of eduroam and making it available in more places amplifies that value,” says Rafal Lawrukiewicz, Canadian Access Federation program manager at CANARIE. “We look forward to working with BCNET and our other partners in the NREN to make eduroam available at airports, municipalities, libraries and other public facilities across the country.”
