R2K welcomes roll-out of Eduroam in Public Libraries
R2K believes that the government, in a democracy, has a duty of care to ensure that citizens, in general, have adequate internet access to participate meaningfully in society. Practically, this means widespread free WiFi, as well as public computers such as in libraries.
In this context, we welcome the rollout of Eduroam academic WiFi in 57 public libraries in Cape Town. Eduroam serves registered students and staff of academic institutions, giving them the same access to paywalled journals that they have on their campuses, as well as general internet access.
Far from compensating for or excusing inadequate service to citizens in general, Eduroam should be seen as making more resources available for non-students, since its cost is borne by the Tertiary Education and Research Network (TENET). Thus the relevant municipalities should be able to provide better services to non-students.
R2K calls on all municipalities as well as institutions such as hospitals and airports to follow suit, as TENET has indicated its willingness to work with them. We also call on TENET to extend its support to make Eduroam available within community telecoms networks such as Zenzeleni and iNethi.
We call on the Ministers of Communications and of Education to support the spread of Eduroam by TENET along with supporting other forms of internet access.
For further comment contact:
Lazola Kati, Communication Rights Organizer: 072 956 7753
Michael Graaf, R2K MFD Member: 079 548 7242
