The Philippines rolls out academic roaming

With the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) as the latest addition, PREGINET, the national research and education network (NREN) has connected state universities and colleges of The Philippines through the roaming Wi-Fi access service eduroam (education roaming).

UPLB is one of the largest research institutions in The Philippines with expertise mainly in agriculture, forestry, national resources management, biotechnology, and environmental management.

The eduroam roll-out to UPLB was completed by early 2024. UPLB Information Technology Center Head, Assistant Professor Paolo Rommel Sanchez expressed that “(their) experience with eduroam has been exceptionally smooth and reliable”. He added that “colleagues effortlessly connected to the internet using their UPLB NetID accounts. Overall, eduroam has proven to be a reliable and efficient solution, reinforcing connectivity across (their) academic spaces with commendable ease of use and consistent performance.”

Seamless internet connection

Developed for the academic and research community, eduroam is a secure global mobility service. The service allows students, researchers, and staff of the participating institutions to connect to the internet at their own campus and when they visit other partner universities and institutions.

The Department of Science and Technology – Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) was the first Philippine institution to deploy eduroam through PREGINET in the early 2000s. Several other institutions have followed suit, one of them the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD).

“eduroam is very useful for faculty visiting academic institutions abroad as they get instant Wi-Fi connectivity without the hassle of asking the host for Wi-Fi details. You can open your laptop and seamlessly get an internet connection. No fussing around with additional Wi-Fi SIDs and passwords,” says Dr. Manuel C. Ramos, Professor at UPD.

Home institution credentials suffice

When users connect via the roaming service, they use the credentials provided by their home institution. Once verified by the server, the user is granted connectivity through the network of the host institution.

“We choose eduroam as it allows seamless Wi-Fi access at any partnering institution using their home organization credentials. It not only saves time but also ensures a consistent and secure connection,” says Mr. Nikko Paolo Racelis, Senior Network Administrator at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), another institution included in the roll-out.

The text is inspired by the article “Paving the way for Ph research: DOST-ASTI’s PREGINET connects institutions with eduroam” by Chelsea Abellana at the DOST-ASTI website.