Dedicated transoceanic cabling or satellite uplinks may be used to connect this type of network. Using a WAN, schools in Florida can communicate with places like Tokyo in a matter of minutes, without paying enormous phone bills. A WAN is complicated. It uses multiplexers to connect local and metropolitan networks to global communications networks like the Internet. Advantages of Installing a School Network Speed .
Networks provide a very rapid method for sharing and transferring files.
Without a network, files are shared by copying them to floppy disks, then carrying or sending the disks from one computer to another. Networkable versions of many popular software programs are available at considerable savings when compared to buying individually licensed copies. Besides monetary savings, sharing a program on a network allows for easier upgrading of the program. The changes have to be done only once, on the file server, instead of on all the individual workstations. Also, passwords can be established for specific directories to restrict access to authorized users.