"ConnectSouth worked with us to develop a less expensive method to bring high-speed Internet access to our students and faculty. Their enthusiasm and technical support allowed us to offer new programs such as distance-learning courses for students across Texas. In more ways than one, they've proved to us that they really care about customers and want to help us succeed."

St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic liberal arts institution of about 3,700 students located in one of the world's most vibrant cities, Austin, Texas. The university was founded in 1885 by the Reverend Edward Sorin, superior general of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the same priest who founded the University of Notre Dame. St. Edward's is recognized for its liberal arts education, emphasizing critical thinking and ethical practice. Small class sizes, personal attention, excellent internships and service-learning opportunities are other hallmarks of this fine institute of learning.

When they first established their university-wide network, St. Edward's leased access to a T-1 line. While this solution never resulted in any downtime, it did take St. Edward's users a long time to connect to Web sites.

Employees of St. Edward's Computer Services department began investigating ISP technologies and service providers. They were familiar with ConnectSouth through local media coverage and approached the company to learn more about their service offerings. Soon afterward, St. Edward's became one of ConnectSouth's first customers. Together they determined that the best solution was to bundle four "segmented" 1.5 Mbps circuit lines to provide SDSL service. By segmenting the lines, the university can dedicate one line to students in the dorms, one line to faculty members, one line for administration and the fourth line for future growth. This successful plan allowed St. Edward's to beta test ConnectSouth's DSL technology before it was available to the public.

The result is Internet access speed at St. Edward's that has quadrupled the output of the previous T-1 line and cut the cost of the monthly service by more than 50 percent. The faster connection time and navigation speed has been widely praised by both students and faculty, who were previously frustrated by time wasted for access and movement within the network. The increased speed has also allowed the university to implement a distance-learning program, whereby students in remote locations across the state complete courses via the Internet. An added bonus to St. Edward's is the excellent customer service follow-up, including regular calls from ConnectSouth to ensure satisfaction.