UWiC Urbino Wireless Campus is a project of the University of Urbino serving students, residents and the Urbino area. The project has been realized with the collaboration and contribution of a vast network of public and private partners.
UWiC offers a wireless network infrastructure covering a geographic area. The network provides free access to a vast range of information and communication services and helps to bridge the digital divide.
UWiC provides University of Urbino students with direct access to all University services: e-learning, computational resources, data banks, digital libraries, voice over IP, Internet, e-mail, and online registrar services.
UWiC extends the University campus over the entire area covered by the network.
The UWiC project welcomes the collaboration of anyone who is interested in expanding the network and developing its range of services.

UWiC plans to use wireless technologies to meet numerous goals:

• develop the university network and connections among its parts
• increase the usability of online services offered to students
• fully realize the idea of a city-campus with which Urbino has always identified
• reinforce bonds of the University with the surrounding community extending the campus over the Province of Pesaro-Urbino and to outlying towns
• enhance online services and distance-learning programs to meet the needs of working students
• help bridge the digital divide in inland communities
• begin working with local government and public and private bodies and associations to offer communication and information services to residents and tourists

In the wireless campus the University of Urbino has the following tasks:

• offer online services which allow the University to be accessed directly through the network
• create an extensive network which guarantees that services can be accessed from every University building and the Urbino area
• set up a permanent laboratory to analyze potential problems in the wireless campus and to develop effective solutions
• work with local government and other public and private bodies in order to extend the wireless network and enhance the services offered to students, residents and tourists within the wireless campus
• develop and spread a model of wireless network integration and effective sustainable online services

The UWiC wireless network is open in every sense:

• It has open standards allowing partners and users to use their choice of low cost network equipment
• It allows anyone to enter the wireless network and communicate freely without identifying themselves
• It welcomes the collaboration of anyone interested in expanding the network
• It welcomes the collaboration of anyone interested in enhancing network services

The idea for UWiC was conceived in the autumn of 2005 following the positive experiences of the Faculties of Economics and Sociology, the Ce.S.I. computer services center and the Information Science and Technology Institute in the fields of wireless connectivity and e-learning.

In December 2005 the University involved the town of Urbino and ERSU (a regional organization that manages student housing and food services) in the project to assess the prospect of using wireless technologies to create a university campus encompassing the whole city, which would offer infrastructure and services able to meet the needs of students, residents and tourists.

During the first few months of 2006 informal meetings were held in order to share ideas and pool skills. The meetings were run by Professor Mariella Guercio, appointed by the University president to head an ongoing computerization program, Professor Yuri Kasepov, Director of the Center for E-learning Research and Services, Professor Giancarlo Ferrero, Dean of the Economics Faculty and numerous other representatives from the University, the town of Urbino and ERSU. It was the consensus of participants that a wireless campus could effectively meet a variety of needs, providing a high level of additional services to students and at the same time helping to bridge the digital divide in the Urbino area. It was also decided that the scalability of the wireless technologies already being used at the Economics Faculty should be investigated.

In February 2006 the University appointed Professor Alessandro Bogliolo, Director of the Information Science and Technology Institute, to draft a wireless campus project to be submitted to the MIUR (Ministry of Higher Education and Research) in order to request co-funding, tapping into funds from the Ministerial initiative “A Cappuccino for a PC.” The project was dubbed “Urbino Wireless Campus” and involves not only the creation of a wireless campus covering the historic center of Urbino, but also the sharing of infrastructure and services with local government bodies and other local entities interested in extending the campus over the area for which they are responsible and offering their services online.

On March 8, 2006 the University presented its project to the MIUR. In addition to the town of Urbino and E.R.S.U., numerous other entities are involved in the project: four Mountain Districts, the Superintendence for the Historic, Artistic and Ethno-anthropologic Heritage of the Marche Region – Urbino, the Archiepiscopal Curia of Urbino-Urbania-Sant’Angelo in Vado, MEGAS S.p.A .waste and utilities management company, ASUR public healthcare provider for zone no. 2 in the Marches , the AMI S.p.A transportation company, and the Foundation of the Cassa di Risparmio di Pesaro bank.

In May 2006 the University registered the domain “wireless-campus.it.”

On June 19, 2006 the UWiC project team was formed. The team is coordinated by Professor Alessandro Bogliolo and is made up of personnel from Ce.S.I. (Computer Services Center), outside consultants, students from degree programs in Applied Computer Science and Economics and interns from the IFTS post secondary course for the training of Expert Technicians in Wireless Technologies.

In June 2006 a laboratory was set up where all the problems of the project are analyzed and solutions are tested using prototypes in order to assess their feasibility, reliability and scalability.

On July 7, 2006 the University registered the name and logo of the Urbino WIreless Campus. In August 2006 a functional prototype of UWiC was completed and guidelines for collaboration with other entities for the extension of the network and development of services were defined.

On September 16, 2006 the UWiC portal was inaugurated and the project was presented to the city and press.

The chronology of the events in the history of the UWiC and announcement of future events can be found in the “Events” section.