While this is not a perfect networking solution, it does provide an excellent low-cost solution for getting systems online quickly with graphical interfaces and graphical Web browsers. Children, especially, seem to be drawn to the graphical Web.
People can use each machine independently on the network.
The main savings are in modem costs and telephone line charges. It is free from the Microsoft website . The 80286 router we use seems to handle four graphical machines at once nicely. Above that level you might see a marked decrease in response time performance. We are experimenting with an 8-machine site using an 80386 router to see if that has any significant impact on performance.