News

President Dorsel at Dartpoints Press Conference

November 18, 2021

Hartsville, SC - GSSM congratulates Dartpoints on its recent acquisition of Immedion and the creation of South Carolina’s first Internet Exchange (IX). At their November 8th press conference, Dartpoints’ CEO Scott Willis announced the company’s two-pronged strategy for improved Internet access in the state.

  1. Developing the first internet exchange in the state
  2. Creating Liquid Edge, the state’s first liquid-immersion, high-performance cloud infrastructure.

Currently, SC draws all of its internet connections from the closest exchange is in Atlanta, GA. The distance results in an overall poorer connection. However, this investment in the state will bring the internet connection closer and result in an overall better connection.

He was followed by Governor Henry McMaster, who passed along his excitement for the investments as well.

GSSM Foundation member Brad Alexander introduced GSSM President Danny Dorsel '90, who spoke on behalf of all K-12 schools in the state. He explained the history of GSSM and how it started as 122 students in leased residence halls and classrooms at Coker University to now supporting over 4,000 students across the state through virtual, residential, and camp programs. He had two significant points to make about the importance of the investment, the first being how this can expedite the transfer of knowledge.

“Education is the transfer of knowledge between teacher and student,” said Mr. Dorsel. “The more secure that can be, the more reliable it can be, and the faster it can be, the more knowledge can be transferred back and forth.”

He also spoke about how important it is for accessibility by comparing it to a speech he gave his students on the first day of class each year. He explained that he would point to the row closest to the front and say “A.” Then the next row, “B.” and so on. The point was that the students in the front row were more likely to make As, the second row to make Bs, the third to make Cs, and the fourth to make Ds. This is not necessarily because the smarter kids sit upfront but because they are closest to the information.

“[This will bring] all of the students in the state to the front row, so they all have the ability to make As” he said.

View the full press conference here.