Sudden Link Internet Service...

[SKIHOTH]

For the record, I have a Verizon Mi-Fi mobile Hot Spot and the service in Mammoth is extremely slow. Bandwidth coincides with the activity in town. During the day, with everyone on the slopes, the bandwidth is good, but after 2:30 and into the evening, it slows to a crawl. Simply put, we need better infrastructure.

[SkierBob]

providers shouldn't be allowed to over sell their systems.

It's like buying an 8 oz bag of chips only to find out it has 4 oz in it.

[skibuddy2]

what is worse is when they have the bandwidth and refuse to use it.

[SkierBob]

^ how do you know that?

[skibuddy2]

^ how do you know that?

I can show you a proposal a friend and biz acquaintance for a 200MBPS line to start up a wireless Internet provider (WISP)
I don't belong to a service to post but I can email it to you. IT has been provided to the media also. If you PM me with a email I will send it to you!

[SurfnSnowboard]

Here's a real world review of the new high speed ViaSat satellite Internet service that I've mentioned. Lots of fees makes it expensive for the initial cost but the speed sounds a lot better than what you get in Mammoth currently if you can live with the high latency.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/viasat-exede-review/

[TheSnowman]

More Lies! Funny they claim they have no bandwidth to sell but they are still running ads on tv and radio saying get the best high speed service ever...

http://www.sierrawave.net/11560/bandwid ... mment-8906

[Sierra Lady]

Bandwidth frustrations in Mammoth Lakes

[cjmccoy]

Is there anything new out there yet? Suddenlink offline several times a month. What does the mountain use?

[biffnix]

Digital 395 is definitely happening. The buildout is continuing on track. The Mono county sections are scheduled to finish prior to snowfall, and the lower valley sections will be built out through the winter. I've met with the Praxis folks (who are doing the fiber buildout) just this week, and things are proceeding just fine.

If the ISPs buy capacity on the D395 fiber, then capacity will definitely increase to Mammoth Lakes. But remember, it is a private co-op who will resell capacity (NOT the same thing as "Internet") on their fiber to transport data from Barstow in the south to Carson City in the north, and every anchor node in between. These anchor nodes were identified in the previous two years, and are the locations at which D395 fiber will break out for distribution. For schools and libraries in Mono County, they are:

Crowley Lake library
SNARL (Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory) - located just west of the airport, across the highway
Mono Co. Office of Education, Mammoth Lakes
Mammoth Unified School district (already connected to the Mono CoE node via private fiber)
Infant Center (the old library on Forest Trail), Mammoth Lakes
Lee Vining High
Lee Vining Elementary
Lee Vining Public Library
Benton Public Library
Edna Beaman Elementary campus (Benton)
June Lake Public Library
Eastern Sierra Unified district office (Bridgeport)
Bridgeport Elementary campus (already connected to ESUSD district office by private fiber)
Mono Co. Office of Education (Bridgeport)
Bridgeport Public Library (already connected via private fiber to MCOE Bridgeport office)
Antelope Valley High school (Coleville)
Antelope Valley Elementary (Coleville - already connects to AV high campus via private fiber)
Coleville Public Library

I only know about the anchor nodes for schools and libraries, since that's where I work, but other anchor nodes include public offices (Sheriff, Police, Fire, Hospitals, County buildings).

The co-op has negotiated terms for a fiber swap with Frontier in the Topaz area, so huge sections are getting built as I type.

I'm excited for the schools and libraries in Mono county, as this will definitely be a game-changer for them - especially Benton. They are still on a 56k copper circuit in their library, and D395 will allow them to have a *minimum* of 100Mpbs link for the first time ever. I'm looking forward to getting it built out for them.

The schools and libraries backhaul from Mammoth Lakes to Los Angeles will increase to a minimum of Gigabit, with a possibility of 10-GigE service to Mono County (depends on CENIC budget for the backhaul).

The complaints about Suddenlink will probably decrease significantly if they purchase enough bandwidth from the D395 Co-Op and increase capacity on their backhaul. As long as they avoid overselling whatever they buy, it should be a big win for frustrated customers in Mono County.

Cheers

[SkierBob]

I'm excited for the schools and libraries in Mono county, as this will definitely be a game-changer for them -

Nice hype,

Someone had better increase their budgets. It's just the beginning of a never ending spending spree.

[biffnix]

I'm excited for the schools and libraries in Mono county, as this will definitely be a game-changer for them -

Nice hype,

Someone had better increase their budgets. It's just the beginning of a never ending spending spree.

It's not hype at all. In fact, we'll be getting more bandwidth for less cost, saving taxpayers significant money due to D395. This isn't Monopoly-money - it's real. For example, for a single point-to-point T1 from Coleville library to the nearest K12HSN node in Markleeville costs about $1495/month from Frontier. Co-op pricing is about $250/month for 100Mbps. These are both full retail pricing, before E-rate and California Teleconnect Fund discounts. This is real money which will go directly back into district and MCOE general funds, Skierbob. The Internet service itself is already free through CENIC (which provides Internet service to each county node in all 58 counties in California). The Mono County node is at the MCOE office in Mammoth Lakes. We distribute the Internet feed via leased circuits to all schools and libraries in Mono County. The Inyo county node is in my old office at the Bishop Elementary campus at the end of Elm street in Bishop.

The really BIG savings will go to Eastern Sierra Unified. They pay about $1400 per month for each T1 they own. They currently pay for two circuits from Coleville to Bridgeport, Two from Bridgeport to Mammoth Lakes, Two from Lee Vining to Mammoth Lakes, and for Schat.net service to Edna Beamon in Benton. Each circuit is a leased MPLS circuit (about T1 capacity, or 1.5Mbps), so they pay about three grand a month for Coleville, Bridgeport, and Lee Vining to be connected to the node in Mammoth Lakes. This is before their E-rate and CTF discounts. E-rate for MCOE is about 79%, and CTF is always 50% of the remaining cost. I don't know what ESUSD's E-Rate discount is (it is based on Free and Reduced lunch student percentage), but the minimum is 50%, so you can go with that. They'll save $2100 per month at three different sites, so their real-world cost will drop $41,400 in one fell swoop. And more importantly, their available bandwidth will increase from 1.5Mbps to 100Mbps.

The libraries (who have always been underfunded) will also see big savings. They currently pay for T1 service in Coleville, June Lake, and Bridgeport. Each costs about $1400/month from Verizon. That's for 1.5Mbps service. Their costs will also drop by $1150/month at each of those sites, so their budgets improve by $41,400 in the first fiscal year. And, their bandwidth increases to 100Mbps from 1.5Mbps. This is HUGE for them. We will also be able to decommission the existing wireless link that feeds SNARL and the Crowley Lake library (from Mammoth Middle School, bounces off Doe Ridge repeater at the airport, for which we pay about $150/month).

So again, this is not hype. It's real-world savings, and real-world increase in bandwidth to each school and library in Inyo and Mono counties.

The real question is whether local ISPs are willing to pay for capacity on D395 and not oversell. I have the network map ready for schools and libraries, and I'm assuming private firms, including Suddenlink and Schat.net are both planning to purchase capacity when D395 fiber is lit, so they can resell to retail consumers.

Cheers.

[Sierra Lady]

Thanks for all that D395 news, biffnix.

A little more food for thought in the article in the current issue of the Mammoth Times:

You snooze you lose on Digital 395; Study says Eastsiders should hone a digital strategy now

(I'm going to post this over on the D395 thread, too.)

[Mogulforever]

Does anyone know why all types of internet are slow in Mammoth?

[SurfnSnowboard]

Does anyone know why all types of internet are slow in Mammoth?

yes - too many people and too little bandwidth out of town. The communications infrastructure was basically built to handle voice traffic not high speed Internet. That's why the Digital 395 project is so important to the entire Eastern Sierra.