Jisc (United Kingdom)

Mark O'Leary

Mark is currently Head of Network Access within Jisc’s Infrastructure division. While his responsibilities within the organisation have varied over time, from national-scale virtual hosting to Vscene, Jisc’s videoconferencing service, the one constant has been federated roaming, starting from the LIN trials (Location Independent Networking, forerunner of eduroam in the UK), through the rollout and growth of eduroam and niche applications like access on public transport, to developing the eduroam companion app. For at least the past five years, it has been a goal to try and transfer some of the benefits of eduroam to the wider public sector in the UK, but despite being able to point to a “15 year pilot study” for govroam, such efforts have met with various difficulties. But now, it appears we have cracked it, and govroam in the UK is a reality.