The Kent Public Service Network (KPSN) Govroam - iESE Certificate of Excellence Winner

The KPSN Govroam project - short for Government Roaming - gives roaming Wi-Fi services to public sector staff across 16 organisations in Kent. The original aim - to give seamless, secure connectivity to approximately 30,000 staff across the county - was met in July 2017. The project has since continued to grow, with other organisations in the county adopting Govroam in partnership or alongside KPSN, including universities and NHS Foundation Trusts.

Govroam is a national service co-ordinated by Jisc. Each authority or federation is responsible for its own implementation, with Jisc making Govroam a UK-spanning network. This adds value for signed-up organisations, giving access to a wider network and a supportive community to draw experience from. The Jisc Govroam network has around 3,900-plus sites across the UK.

Using KPSN Govroam, public sector staff can effortlessly connect at more than 400 sites in Kent, including 100 council buildings, 100 university buildings, 87 libraries, 63 fire stations, 49 children centres, eight youth centres, six hospitals, five adult education centres, four leisure centres, three family centres, one castle and one theatre.

Public sector staff can access the Govroam network at any participating organisation using a single, securely-authenticated sign-on managed by their own organisation. Visiting staff can therefore access any Govroam-enabled guest network using their own sign-in credentials, reducing the time spent managing user accounts.

There are many other benefits, including allowing staff to work more effectively in different locations because they don't have to worry about connectivity. It encourages flexible working across locations, encourages co-location opportunities between public sector organisations, reduces chances of a security attack through vulnerabilities created through multiple separate Wi-Fi configurations and gives procurement confidence to public sector organisations since Govroam meets public sector procurement rules. With Govroam in place, organisations can also end maintenance on corporate Wi-Fi networks.

The service is very popular, replacing corporate Wi-Fi solutions in some areas. Figures show that in September 2018, KPSN was authenticating 6,500-plus Govroam users per week. As of March 2019, this has grown to more than 20,000 authenticated users per week.

To enable users to get the best out of the service, KPSN has initiated awareness campaigns and developed supporting documents on how to connect to Govroam and where to find the service, including being proactive in distributing promotional material such as leaflets and stickers for sites to promote access to users.

KPSN is now looking to expand its Wi-Fi accessibility at other sites, including country parks, care homes, GP surgeries and so on.

George Rhodes, Technical Projects Officer at KPSN, said: "Being awarded a Certificate of Excellence gives recognition for all the hard work our partners have put in to make the projects a success. Delivering Govroam is fundamentally partnership work and to be recognised for Kent's dedication and collaboration, and the achievements that collaboration has produced, helps us demonstrate to others that partnership working between public sector organisations can achieve great things.

"This is also the first award any Govroam service has won since the Jisc-owned national service went live. It is therefore a great opportunity for Kent to stand as an exemplar to all those considering implementing the service and help promote the national Govroam rollout.”

To find out more about the national agenda visit: www.jisc.ac.uk/govroam

To apply for a Certificate of Excellence, visit our website: https://www.iese.org.uk/ certificate-of-excellence