Whitman College currently has a single dedicated T1 connection to the Internet that is shared by everyone on campus. As you may have noticed, this connection is getting used more and more and as a result, the speed of the connection continues to dwindle. A T1 connection has the speed of twenty-four 56Kb modems combined. While this may seem like a lot of speed, it is actually very slow compared to the speed of single computer attached to the local Whitman network, which is nearly 7 times faster. We have been asked why we do not simply get a faster connection, like a T3 for example. The reason is two-fold. The first is there is nothing faster than a T1 available in Walla Walla and secondly, a T3 connection is prohibitively expensive.

WCTS understands that email and access to the Internet are very important to everyone on campus. To combat this bandwidth problem, WCTS has been working with our Internet Service Provider, AT&T WorldNet, to see if anything could be done to help solve the problem. They were very helpful in finding a way to expand Whitman"s access to the Internet without greatly increasing the cost. WCTS has placed an order for a second T1 from AT&T WorldNet which will take 30-60 days to get installed. The plan is to split the campus usage of the Internet into two pieces. The faculty, staff and public computer labs will continue to use the current connection. The eight wired residence halls and three fraternities will be changed to use this new 2nd T1 connection. WCTS also plans to place less restrictions and filters on the usage of this 2nd T1 connection.

Whitman"s Internet connection is a shared resource that is intended to support the academic mission of the college. You need to use this resource wisely and in a way that is fair to others. Even with the addition of the 2nd T1 connection, you will still need to limit your usage of bandwidth heavy applications like online music, video and the sharing of large music files... there are about 1200 other people trying to share that bandwidth with you.