eduroam on the APNK network

Collaboration to provide eduroam

The National Library, the Ministry of Education, and the Research and Education Advanced Network of New Zealand (REANNZ) have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide the eduroam network as part of the Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa (APNK) service.

This collaboration means that eduroam is now available on Wi-Fi at all APNK locations. As a result, students and researchers can connect more easily to their eduroam network and seamlessly continue their work in many more places around the country.

What is eduroam?

eduroam (short for education roaming) is a free, secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community.

eduroam allows students, researchers and staff from participating institutions to obtain internet connectivity at their campus or offices and when visiting other participating institutions. As at 2024, there are over 20,000 unique devices using eduroam in New Zealand each month.

eduroam is based on the most secure encryption and authentication standards in existence today, and is managed in New Zealand by REANNZ (the National Research & Education Network for New Zealand), a non-profit national network. REANNZ seamlessly connects over 120+ networks globally to enable collaboration.

eduroam – Connecting Aotearoa — REANNZ website

Using eduroam at an APNK location

The National Library’s APNK service provides internet connectivity in public libraries around the country. The eduroam network is now part of the APNK offering, and is available at all APNK library locations.

If a user has successfully configured access to eduroam at their home institution, they can access eduroam at an APNK location with no change to their device setup, using the discoverable “eduroam” wireless network.

APNK library locations

Things to note about eduroam at APNK locations are:

• the hours of operation for the APNK network may vary depending on location

• when using the APNK network, eduroam users must conform to both their home institution's network acceptable use policy and the APNK terms of use

• The APNK service conforms with the eduroam New Zealand policy

Are eduroam users’ login credentials secure?

eduroam users’ login credentials are protected by the authentication protocol, keeping login passwords secret between the user and their home institution.

A user’s username is visible to authentication servers that are involved in getting the authentication request completed. The username data may be stored in a log which is protected by the institution running the service.

Support for community members using eduroam

If an eduroam user experiences an authentication issue, they should contact their home institution for support in the first instance. The issue will likely be due to an account or configuration issue at their home organisation.

If the user has successfully configured access to eduroam at their home institution and they are still having issues with eduroam not connecting, they should ask the staff at the APNK location to confirm that the eduroam network is working.