Residential school enhances internet

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, a residential public high school in Hot Springs, is now connected to the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network (ARE-ON), allowing a tenfold increase in campus internet bandwidth.

ARE-ON is a not-for-profit consortium of all of Arkansas’ two- and four-year higher education institutions, as well as several select organizations such as Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the National Center for Toxicological Research, Arkansas PBS and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, according to representatives of the school.

ARE-ON provides a highspeed fiber-optic network throughout the state to its members and other affiliates, including regional optical networks and commercial service providers.

Joining ARE-ON’s network gives the math- and science-themed high school access to a 10 gigabit Ethernet connection, up from the 1 gigabit service the school had.

A gigabit allows up to 1 billion bits of data per second to be downloaded by the user. Faster download speeds and larger bandwidth permissions enable students to access information in a shorter period of time.

“While having internet access for classroom and other learning experiences are important for every school, having the same reliable access for students outside the classroom is just as important for a residential campus such as ASMSA,” school Director Corey Alderdice said in a news release.

“Students live their lives both online and offline, and ASMSA is their ‘home away from home’ for the better part of the year,” Alderdice continued. “We want to ensure students have access to email, streaming video and music services, gaming and other appropriate uses.”