I used to attend computer science classes in Vereeniging on Mondays after normal school. It was at another school, and I had to travel about 70km to get there. I did them from standard 8 to matric, 1986 to 1988, and in 1987 we dialled into something and connected to someone in New York, I think it was. I wasn't all that into it so probably missed a lot of the detail, but it was a big deal for the school. And clearly it was possible.