Temple’s wireless network has evolved in recent years and, with the launch of eduroam, and now tuguestwireless, Computer Services has expanded Internet access at Temple.
Eduroam was launched this semester and is a service that allows anyone with a valid Temple username and password to connect to another participating institution’s wireless network and vice versa. Launched soon after, tuguestwireless allows anyone with a cell phone to access Temple’s wireless network.
“This is like night and day,” Penelope Myers, head of access services at Paley Library, said. “Parents that used to come in would want to just check their email but we would have to say no.”
Previously, visiting academics or parents would need to contact Computer Services far in advance so the department could set up a temporary wireless account for them. These new changes allow the same people to register in a matter of minutes.
Free wireless networks used in places like coffee shops are not used on Main Campus because they pose privacy security threats to the user. Therefore, a secure wireless network needs to require accounts for all its users.
Developed for three months and launched Feb. 4 on all domestic Temple campuses and the medical center to a limited audience, tuguestwireless has seen very few glitches and a large level of participation with 1,800 users on the first day alone, according to Computer Services.
Visitors to the university can now access wireless networks by connecting to tuguestwireless anywhere on campus. They will be asked for their cell phone number and provider and are then sent a text with a password within seconds. That visitor then has 24-hour access to the network by using his or her phone number as the username and texted password.
However, these temporary accounts will not have access to Temple exclusive resources such as the Cherry & White Directory or databases.
Also new this semester, eduroam gives students, faculty and staff Internet access on other institutions’ campuses in the U.S. and across 59 territories.
Susan Banka, director of information technology at Computer Services, said she was able to use eduroam to connect to a participating university’s wireless network in Iceland while on a university campus.
When some Temple officials went to Indiana University, they were happy to hear they could get access to wireless through eduroam, Larry Brandolph, the associate vice president of Computer Services, said.
On an average day so far, 100 Temple users access other institutions’ wireless via eduroam.
Eduroam is much larger in Europe and is slowly making its way across North America. Local universities like University of Pennsylvania do not have eduroam established yet. Drexel University is reportedly setting the network up.
“If students, faculty and staff push for it, then that can make it happen,” Brandolph said.
Students would be able to visit Penn or Drexel and use the schools’ wireless if this were to go through.
“It’s nice to be on the list,” Adam Ferrero, assistant vice president of Computer Services who worked on the setup, said.
Computer Services has planned another addition to the secure Internet, which will make initial Internet setup for students, faculty and staff more streamlined by automatically recognizing the user’s operating system. This update is projected for launch at the beginning of the fall semester.
Marcus McCarthy can be reached at marcus.mccarthy@temple.edu.
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