Since the onset of COVID-19, life at the institutions of learning has not been the same. Institutions have been closed most of the time for close to two years, and it is unknown when life will get back to normal. To support the institutions through this, RENU on 1st September 2020 launched Metro eduroam, the first deployment of its kind in Africa, to make it possible for students, university staff, and researchers to access free, secure and trusted wireless Internet connectivity while they work off-campus. Users from institutions that are signed up for eduroam are able to use their institutional login details to access eduroam in over 300 locations within Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono at no cost. The Metro eduroam hotspot locations can be found here.
Mark Byamukama, an eLearning Coordinator at Uganda Christian University (UCU) and a resident of Mukono speaks highly of how eduroam has come in handy while off campus in various places. He told us about his first encounter with Metro eduroam. “There is a time I was having lunch at The Food Hub, located at Cargen House corner on Kampala Road and Parliamentary Avenue and I had to start a Zoom class in a few minutes. Funny enough, as I was getting out my phone to load a data bundle, I saw that the phone had already connected to the Internet hotspot at the restaurant. I was surprised but very happy because I had always heard of eduroam being everywhere in Kampala. Because of eduroam, I was able to start the Zoom class and make the lecturer a host of the meeting without incurring any cost on data.”
Ronnie Awany, also a staff at UCU testifies to having been able to access Metro eduroam in areas of Mukono, Namugongo and Kampala and that the university students are excited about the opportunities presented by Metro eduroam especially for their e-learning programs.
Since the launch of Metro eduroam, 609,916 successful logins have been registered, out of which 1,556 are unique, with the average daily peak traffic being 33.37 Mbps.
| Top 5 institutions utilizing Metro eduroam | Most active Metro eduroam locations | Top 5 active domains from institutions outside Uganda |
|---|---|---|
| Uganda Christian University (UCU) | TOTAL Mengo | lshtm.ac.uk |
| Mengo Hospital | Olympia Hostel Makerere Kikoni | emu.edu.tr |
| The RENU Secretariat | Total Mukono | abdn.ac.uk |
| Islamic University In Uganda (IUIU) | Total Makerere Service | brighton.ac.uk |
| Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) | Entebbe International Airport | kent.ac.uk |
| Village Mall Bugolobi | ||
| City Oil Kira Road | ||
| Total Entebbe |
