In a first-time meeting last Friday, officials from Inyo, Mono and Kern counties sat down in Bishop to talk about the major high speed internet project known as Digital 395.

Mono County Administrator Dave wilbrecht said that the primary purpose of the meeting was for the officials to get together for the first time to make sure in the future they would work together to help accomplish the project which will mean installation of nearly 600 miles of fiber optics from Barstow to Carson City. The result – major bandwidth and high speed internet service.

Wilbrecht said the meeting allowed officials to see each other, face to face, and understand how they are all committed to the project. Officials plan to get together in another month or so to track the progress or problems of the project. Inyo County Administrator Kevin Carunchio also said that it was good that the counties who will benefit finally sat down as a group. “The affected counties need to be on the same page with more frequent meetings,” he said.

Wilbrecht said the project will present legal issues and requirements for the counties. He said each jurisdiction will handle the lines from the main trunk of the fiber optic line to homes, businesses and other users. Wilbrecht said officials think it would be wonderful if some un-named mega-company would want to come in and handle the counties’ parts of the project.

Wilbrecht commented on the potential enormity of Digital 395. He said there are “very few times in a county’s lifespan when major infrastructure is created.” He said the possibilities are huge.

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