Back in the Fast Lane

In an editorial printed last winter we speculated that Dartmouth was at risk of becoming a backwater in cyberspace. Because computer network use had grown at a rate of 30 percent a year over the last three years alone, Dartmouth's portion of info-superhighway resembled the L.A. freeway during rush hour. The problem was the 1982 vintage "backbone" of the network. We opined, "Other colleges continue to suffer data envy when they look at us. But the winds of change blow fast in cyberspace." Those winds will soon be blowing under the campus. Over the next few years the College will invest $2.85 million to upgrade the campus computer network. The upgrade includes the laying of fiber optic cable and rewiring campus buildings to handle data transmission speeds that will be 15 times faster than the fastest links currently on campus.