Over the years, changes have occurred in the type of network connections used by public schools and the speed at which they are connected to the Internet. In 1996, dial-up Internet connections were used by almost three-fourths (74 percent) of public schools having Internet access (Heaviside, Riggins, and Farris 1997). By 2000, schools tended to use faster dedicated-line Internet connections, such as 56Kb, T1/DS1, fractionalized T1, T3/DS3, and fractionalized T3 lines (table 4). Seventy-seven percent of the nation's public schools that were connected to the Internet used dedicated lines, 11 percent used dial-up (not continuous) connections, and 24 percent of schools used other (continuous) connection types, including ISDN, wireless connections, and cable modems⁵. There were differences by instructional level; secondary schools (86 percent) were more likely to use dedicated lines than elementary schools (74 percent).

5.Percentages add to more than 100 because schools may use more than one type of connection.

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