City expands public WLAN offer

City of Jena expands public WLAN offer

• MeinJena WLAN locations will be expanded in 2022
• WLAN suitable for youth protection possible through school networks
• Further expansion stages planned in cooperation with the University of Jena

In future, citizens of Jena, schoolchildren and students will have access to open Wi-Fi at even more locations and facilities in the city. A concept for the expansion of the Wi-Fi network was examined and developed in a broad-based working group involving the departments of the City of Jena, the municipal enterprises JenaKultur and Kommunale Immobilien Jena (KIJ), the Stadtwerke Jena Group, the Jena Media Center and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

The working group was led by Manuela Meyer, the City of Jena's digitization officer. She says of the results so far:

"Jena is on its way to becoming a Smart City. It is essential to create appropriate offerings in order to strengthen the digital participation of people in Jena. Free access to the internet is an important prerequisite for participation. By expanding the public Wi-Fi network in the city's districts and for new target groups, even more people will be able to access digital information regardless of time and place."

The introduction and expansion of the city-wide Wi-Fi network will improve the quality of life, create a more positive and dynamic image for the municipality and, in conjunction with municipal websites, strengthen identification with the city. Digitally available administrative services, services of the Stadtwerke Jena Group (local transport, swimming pools) as well as further cultural offers, services and events of the city and its own companies can be accessed online.

Three expansion stages will extend the city's Wi-Fi access over the next two years

1st expansion stage, 2022: Expansion of the MeinJena WLAN locations

In the first expansion stage in 2022 (or after completion of new buildings in 2023), the existing 26 MeinJena Wi-Fi locations will be expanded to include locations that are under construction, about to be completed or in planning by Stadtwerke Jena.

• Smartes Quartier Jena-Lobeda (common room)
• City administration (outside - Anger 15)
• Bürgerservice Löbdergraben (waiting area on the first floor)
• Historic town hall (inside)
• Volksbad (inside)
• Jena Tourist Information (inside - business area)
• Volkshaus (inside and outside)
• Carl-Zeiss-Platz (can be reached from outside the Volkshaus)
• New Lobeda indoor swimming pool (inside and outside)
• Central Customer Center Stadtwerke Jena Group (inside - waiting and consultation area)

Claudia Budich, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Jena GmbH, said:

"With the city of Jena's WLAN expansion initiative, we are achieving a central goal of our MeinJena app that we have strived for from the outset, namely to provide as many citizens as possible with free WLAN. We are delighted that Stadtwerke Jena can make a significant contribution to a modern and digital city with its expertise and infrastructure."

2nd expansion stage, 2022: Linking MeinJena Wi-Fi with the school network for youth-friendly internet

Another focus of the WiFi expansion is to include school networks and offer pupils city-wide WiFi that is suitable for young people. To this end, the MeinJena WLAN will be linked to the school WLAN. This means that the current 28 schools (comprehensive schools, community schools, grammar schools and elementary school, as well as vocational schools and a support center) can be expanded to include the MeinJena WLAN. The concept focuses primarily on the outdoor areas and schoolyards, which are also publicly accessible to the residents of Jena. In addition, the linking of the two Wi-Fi networks will automatically open up further Wi-Fi locations for school Wi-Fi in all districts of the city of Jena. As a result, 12,000 pupils and 2,000 teachers will be able to use established and secure internet access that can be used throughout the city. At the same time, the reach of the MeinJena network will be significantly expanded in the city area.

Peter Jerie, Head of the Jena Media Center, comments:

"The demand for using digital applications, both in school lessons and outside of school for communication, group work and learning management systems has been increasing continuously for years. With the expansion of the school WLAN, we are creating the necessary infrastructure for schools in Jena. By interlinking the MeinJena network and the school WLAN, teachers and pupils throughout the city will have established Internet access that is suitable for young people. The schools themselves decide whether access is available to their pupils in accordance with their domiciliary rights."

3rd expansion stage, currently in planning: linking MeinJena WLAN with eduroam network at Jena University locations

There are plans to connect further locations by linking the MeinJena WLAN with eduroam. Education roaming (eduroam) is an initiative that provides employees and students of participating universities and organizations with Internet access at the locations of all participating organizations.

Stadtwerke Jena and the Friedrich Schiller University are currently in talks about cooperating on WLAN broadcasting. The plan is to broadcast the MeinJena WLAN via the hotspots - i.e. public wireless Internet access points - of the University Computer Center at all university locations (with the exception of the Faculty of Medicine).

Head of Digitization Benjamin Koppe said:

"Especially in places where people teach, research and share knowledge, public access to WLAN offers a huge advantage and ideal working environments. I would like to thank Stadtwerke and Friedrich Schiller University for including the university locations in the Wi-Fi expansion concept. Our aim as a city is to connect people with each other. We will therefore continue to examine other potential locations for Wi-Fi expansion in the future. The concept lives on."

Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche praises the work of the project group :

"This project once again demonstrates the strength of our city association: The city administration, municipal enterprises and municipal companies are working together to drive forward strategically important issues. With the expertise of the individual partners, we can work together to create something good for our city and its citizens. It once again strengthens the attractiveness of our location."