ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
THE PHONE-LESS SYSTEM will save money by allowing more computers to download in seconds what could normally take hours.
A pilot program using satellites will help schools in the New Century Region go on-line without phone lines.
The New Century Council announced Monday that it has an agreement with Hughes Aircraft Co. of Arlington to provide Internet access for rural schools in the Alleghany Highlands, Giles County and Radford.
Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr., executive director of the council, said more schools and businesses will be added later.
The technology will be especially valuable to schools not connected to the Internet by high-speed transmission lines, Fitzpatrick said. The Hughes system supplies data directly to a personal computer from a satellite.
Fitzpatrick said schools will have access to the Internet within hours after the equipment is delivered. "More importantly, this system will allow our students access at a cost substantially less than alternate methods."
Ivan Somers, an executive with Hughes Aircraft, said the satellite system is much faster and can allow schools to receive data from several sources simultaneously. "Data that can take literally hours to transmit and receive by traditional methods can be downloaded by schools in a matter of seconds," he said.
Fitzpatrick said state Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, played a key role in bringing New Century Council and Hughes together on the pilot project. Trumbo's district is in the New Century Region.
Trumbo said the satellite system will put area students in the forefront of technology. It also will bring the Cable News Network into schools that don't have this capability, he said.
"Now any school, regardless of location or size, will be wired to the world," Trumbo said. "We want our students to be competitive for college and jobs."
Somers said Virginia Tech also has been involved in the pilot project and will help install the systems.
"With [Tech's] research and world-class expertise in satellite systems and wireless technology, it made a pilot project in the New Century Region a natural fit," he said.
Any school division or business wanting more information may call the council, Fitzpatrick said.
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