Computer training company gets fiber-optic link

A major Springfield computer training company is picking up speed; namely, the speed of light.

New Horizons Computer Learning Centers is linked to the Internet via fiber optics service provided by SpringNet, the telecommunications division of City Utilities of Springfield.

Tom Dapp, New Horizons owner and general manager, said that the technology's capacity for transmitting vast amounts of data at "almost instantaneous speed" will allow classes at the center to access much more information much faster. Fiber optics will drastically cut the time required to access and download files, as well as requiring very low maintenance, Dapp said.

Dapp illustrated the technology by comparing a conventional 56K modem connection to a funnel where "all of the information is at the wide end waiting to be downloaded, but the other end is narrow and can only handle so much information."

With a fiber optic connection, he said, "the narrow end of the funnel becomes almost comparable in size to the wide end."

Dapp also said that with conventional line connections to the Internet, users may have to wait for information in smaller amounts to go through several ISP's (Internet Service Providers) connected serially before it reaches their computers. With fiber optics, however, the connection is direct to a primary Internet server, such as that in St. Louis, and information transmitted in great quantity in one direct operation.

"In teaching Internet classes," said Dapp, "fiber optics will allow us quicker response time for more information to cover in class. The difference will be night and day."