Govroam
Seamless roaming connectivity across thousands of public sector locations
For enquiries contact:
About govroam
Govroam is a national roaming service which provides ‘zero touch’ internet access to public sector staff across the UK.
Hundreds of public sector organisations currently use govroam, including NHS Trusts, local authorities and emergency services.
Benefits to your organisation
- Easy-to-use internet access across thousands of locations - once configured, devices will connect automatically at any participating site
- Authenticates users securely
- Replaces the need for guest accounts for visiting public sector colleagues
- Overlays your existing wireless systems and can leverage your current RADIUS services
- Supports various authentication methods, accommodating your organisation's requirements and policies
- Tried and tested technology, building on our extensive experience operating eduroam
- Available via the G-Cloud framework, offering procurement confidence
You can read more details about the service, including technical documentation and FAQs on the govroam wiki.
Case studies
From Kent to Kingston, govroam is transforming connectivity in the public sector. Find out how govroam:
- Helps Betsi Cadwaladr University health board adapt to new ways of working (pdf)
- Has simplified how public sector staff in Kent connect effortlessly across multiple sites (pdf)
- Integrates health and social care in Wakefield (pdf)
- Is part of Kingston University's civic engagement programme with the help trust and identity consultancy (pdf)
Start using govroam
If your organisation is interested in govroam, or would like to know more, email us at govroam@jisc.ac.uk to discuss next steps.
Eligibility and service documents
Our goal is to make govroam available wherever it will support productive work and collaboration within the public sector.
Full details of eligibility for membership and the enrolment process is set out in the govroam service definition. An organisation wishing to become a member must be one of the following:
- More than 50% publicly funded
- Have charitable status
- A commercial organisation providing services to a state or public body
- A commercial provider acting as an RFO for its govroam customers
Please note: individuals cannot join govroam alone, the organisation you work for has to sign up. If you think the service would be useful, talk to your networking team about joining govroam.
Service documents
Tariff information
Govroam is a subscription-supported service. The charges are set at a level to cover the operational costs and development activities only. These are reviewed annually.
Further details of the above charging model are set out in the govroam pricing document (pdf).
| Entity participating | Definition | Monthly charge | Yearly charge (with 5% discount) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual organisation | A single organisation which signs an agreement with Jisc directly. An organisation may comprise multiple locations or servers (see page five of the pricing document for detailed definition). | £310 | £3,530 |
| Regional federation | A group of organisations under a single regional federation operator (RFO). Consists of 2 to 25 organisations. Only the RFO signs terms with Jisc. | £720 | £8,210 |
| ‘Super’ regional federation | A group of organisations under a single regional federation operator (RFO). Consists of 26+ organisations. Only the RFO signs terms with Jisc. | £3,080 | £35,110 |
G-Cloud procurement framework
The service can be purchased direct from Jisc, or via the G-Cloud procurement framework.
G-Cloud is a set of simple and legally-compliant frameworks that allow public sector organisations to buy technology products and services more quickly and efficiently than traditional procurement methods.
With G-Cloud, all listed suppliers are pre-vetted to ensure compliance with public contract regulations. Govroam has therefore been through a rigorous process to ensure its credibility and suitability for the public sector.
Privacy notice
The govroam service does not gather any personal information from end users, but various processes behind the scenes require us to be able to contact the administrators in subscribing organisations.
Their information is needed for us to setup your organisation’s govroam subscription and to access the service. We’ll use it, as described in our standard privacy notice, to provide the service you’ve requested, as well as to identify problems or ways to make the service better.
The contact information for the person or team providing business-to-business govroam technical support specifically will also be shared with the govroam administrators community when they access the govroam wiki, for the purpose of issue resolution between subscribing organisations. We will also be sharing analytics data from our app with a third party company but this will not include any personal data, only fully anonymised data.
Jisc works with Procog Ltd. to develop and maintain our mobile apps, and in this role they may encounter administrator account details for the mapping tool.
We’ll keep the information until we are told that you no longer wish to subscribe, at which point it will be removed from both the service and wiki systems.
No personal data is collected by this service and though data is shared with our third party and used for diagnostics and tracking purposes all this data is anonymised.
Govroam configuration assistance tool
The govroam configuration assistance tool (CAT) helps ensure the correct configuration of end-user devices. It builds customised installers for a number of popular platforms using configuration details entered by local govroam administrators. End users can access these installers either from the CAT website or via a dedicated app.
Note that an installer prepared for one organisation will not work for users of another one, therefore if your organisation is not on the list, you cannot use this system.
The govroam CAT is currently in beta. Please email the govroam team (govroam@jisc.ac.uk) to discuss using this tool.
Govroam in the press
- How can federated roaming help the public sector? - GovNet, February 2021
- Jisc joins the Wireless Broadband Alliance - An interview with WBA member Jisc - Wireless Broadband Alliance
- Expanding the Scottish public sector's internet access – Public Sector Focus, May 2019
- KPSN receive a Public Sector Transformation Award for their govroam service – KPSN.net, March 2019
- Connecting public services with wi-fi roaming across Yorkshire and the Humber – Public Sector Focus, August 2018
- London Mayor Details Plan to Grow 5G, WiFi and Full Fibre Broadband – ISP review, June 2018
- Govroam – the wi-fi network linking public services – Open Access Government, January 2018
- See how Medway NHS achieves digital transformation via govroam (video) - ITN, October 2017
- Govroam — a story of the NHS and WiFi – GP Marcus Baw’s personal blog, March 2017
ISO certification
This service is included within the scope of our ISO9001 and ISO27001 certificates.
