Bandwidth is so restricted in the Mammoth Lakes area that residents, business owners and tourists have begun to tear their hair out as they try to get online. For many, it’s just not happening. Councilman Matthew Lehman agendized the issue to press Suddenlink and Verizon for information.
Lehman brought up the internet frustrations at the last Council meeting which prompted many phone calls about internet complaints. Lehman called it a “hot topic” when Suddenlink official Jason Oelkers stood up to talk to the Council about the problem. Oelkers said Suddenlink inherited the shortage of bandwidth when they recently purchased the Mammoth system from NPG Cable. He said that this is not their normal mode of operation. Oelkers said the Digital 395 bandwidth project is the “best long-term solution.”
Councilman Lehman said he has a problem with having no solution until Digital 395 comes on line. Lehman said, “I’m paying for service I don’t get. Tourists come here for a working vacation and can’t get online.” Lehman said waiting a year for Digital 395 is “hard to swallow.”
The reality is Suddenlink does not have, as Mr. Oelkers put it, “the luxury of more bandwidth.” He said the company stopped selling internet service to Mammoth customers when they saw the restrictions. Oelkers said internet use has doubled. He added that Suddenlink’s long-haul carrier is Verizon.
When pressed by Lehman for any interim solutions, Oelkers said Suddenlink is examining some “exotic solutions that are in early testing phases”. He said he could not reveal anything further right now.
The Town had asked Verizon to send a representative to deal with this pressing issue. No one from Verizon showed up at the meeting.
The fact of the matter is that there is literally no new capacity into or out of Owens Valley. Mono County is at the north end of a peninsula of fiber. Only Verizon sells capacity on that fiber, and it is tapped out. The real issue is that additional infrastructure… Read more »
I know that in the community of Lone Pine the issue isnt selling too much bandwidth. Its that everyones usage has sky rocketed over the last couple years with online gaming, video streaming, social media and technology advancements. Just video streaming alone now puts a constant draw on bandwidth compared… Read more »
Schat.net is taking up the slack in Lone Pine now.
well, I don’t know a lot about the technical side of this issue, but here’s what I do know…people in many third world countries have BETTER access to high speed internet AND cell service then many people in the USA. Why’s that? Well cause outright capitalism for all services and… Read more »
Sierra Girl. True there’s flaws in Capitalism but there’s flaws in Socialism as well. There’s no perfect world but without capitalism, Mammoth probably wouldn’t exist let alone every other city or municipality. If Socialism were our way, who would want to work? Just take a look at Greece! They have… Read more »
Hey sierra fan, you mis-interpret my statement. I am in no way against Capitalism…in fact, I believe in letting the free market work, ie. getting rid of trade barriers between countries etc….I do not want our country to be socialist….but we do need a mix of capitalism and socialism, just… Read more »
Sierragrl…well put. Your thinking is very much on the right track. One important point about “trade barriers” though: When countries have large disparities in currency valuation, labor costs, and related factors (such as in the case of the U.S. and China), the higher-value/cost country must tax imports from the lower-value… Read more »
Great points Bemused! This is the part of our system that needs to be dealt with in a big way.
you got some good points, bemused….nothing is simple…also our country can’t compete when our companies have the added cost (as appropriate) of behaving in environmentally friendly actions and they have to compete with companies working in countries with no env. regulations….true free mkt competition only works when marginal cost includes… Read more »
Sierra Girl, It sounds like we aren’t too far off in our thinking but at the same time I’m confused. Please correct me if I’m wrong but it sounds like you wouldn’t mind having the Government competing with large corporations, i.e.. gas sales, healthcare, utilities, etc. As far as Healthcare… Read more »
I’m not sure on what information you are basing the idea that the government doesn’t let health insurance companies compete. Government information says, “In the first quarter of 2011, the five largest for-profit health insurance companies recorded a net profit of $3.9 billion – an average 16 percent increase from… Read more »
Hi Bennet, There’s many parts to this for sure and some of the regulation is probably good for health reasons but then there’s the area that needs to be rethought. For instance, the over regulation and fees associated with things like medical devices and prescription meds. I agree that the… Read more »
Hi, back,
I’ve seen info on the internet about this. They call it medical tourism. BK
Fortunately TOML is broke and completely incompetent and soon won’t be able to provide anything so I’m not to concerned.
Besides you don’t even know what you’re talking about. Your uplink would never work for business. Latency and ping times would make it useless for anything but websurfing.
Ok, you’re right. Your plan is better — uh what was your plan again?
Rob, actually there is satellite internet that does not have the Latency and Ping problems that you describe. It also supports VoIP. It is commericial grade and although pricey, it works well.
Check out http://www.skycasters.com
Don’t believe everything you read. Did you read the upstream bandwidth? No Buno.
I have a friend in the oil business that uses it and it works fine. He has talked to me on Skype with no problemo!
you want TOML to have it’s own satellite uplink? It’s it isn’t that hard if they put their mind to it? TOML and every other city across the Country needs to keep out of private business ventures and not compete with private sector business. If they do they need to… Read more »
Internet connectivity is a utility which your precious private industry has massively failed to provide enough of in a timely fashion for reasons you describe as being founded on the lack of sufficient profit. You may not need the internet given your rich internal dialog but others and the town’s… Read more »
I’m not sure that is a good idea Ken .. while it is an idea to have the local government providing it, because as you say, the private industry has failed. As I see it, the private industry has failed, but I feel it has failed because of government involvement.… Read more »
I agree, its like the project manager of digital 395 says. “it takes longer to get permits to use the land then it does to do the actual digging.
I told anybody who would listen years ago that internet connectivity was as an important part of the infrastructure as water and electricity. Of course, nobody cared to listen because they were focused on the airport, visitor amenities and TOT. The answer is for TOML to have it’s own satellite… Read more »
and the latency on a system like that would SUCK!
Pretty funny, I think Lehman got his answer from the Verizon no show. Hopefully D395 comes online, but they were suppose to break ground in April and it is almost May? Anyone hear anything about D395 lately? I thought they had a deadline to spend the money by a certain… Read more »
At the Town Council meeting Nate Greenberg said D395 hopes to break ground by the end of the month. They’re still dealing with environmental and cultural (artifacts) issues. Benett
Hey Mammoth, if you can read this Good Luck!
And Sudden Link still over sells bandwidth they do not have. Just heard a AD on the radio for high speed internet.
Mammoth would be better off with out Sudden Link and their ugly lies that they spew out day in and day out.
Jason try telling the truth pal.
Suddenlink does sell high speed internet in Inyo. Benett Kessler
Heard it on Kmmt not your station…
I heard from a friend that Suddenlink is oversold in Lone Pine and thay are not selling new accounts there. Can someone from Lone Pine confirm that?
I do know that Lone Pine TV is the cable provider in Lone Pine. Don’t know about the bandwidth situation but have heard complaints from residents there. BK