We have DSL and cable broadband here. As far as I know it is available in every town, but I could be wrong there. We do have it in Bishop and Mammoth. In Mammoth there is supposedly a two year wait for a new DSL connection and the situation might be the same in Bishop. If it is that way in the two largest towns in the region, I would imagine it is that way in all the other towns as well. The number of circuits going south is limited or they don't have the capacity in the central switch in each town, or both. I've heard a couple of versions but don't remember what my very phone savvy friend told me about a year ago.
Electricity, phones, UPS/Fed Ex, mail, and propane are all provided from the south, up to and including the Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) north of Bridgeport near the U.S. 395/S.R. 108 (Sonora Pass) junction. From that point it is only 17 miles to the town of Walker, CA. When people at the MWTC call someone in Walker, the message is carried by wires down to Bridgeport to that switch, then goes out on microwave to Conway Summit, all the way south to a southern crossing of the Sierra near Mojave and Tehachapi, all the way up the west side of the Sierra in the Central Valley, over the Donner Pass area, into Reno, then down the valley at the base of the Carson Range, then the base of the Sierra, and into the town of Walker, where this path ends. UPS delivery trucks do not drive between Sonora Junction and Walker, SCE ends at the Sonora Junction Caltrans maintenance station, mail devlivery does not bridge this gap, and services such as propane, car parts, and the like do not cross it either. As we are on so many different lines which dead end in the northern end of Mono County, it is difficult for companies make up for the substantial investment for providing additional capacity for a relatively low payoff.
The state's microwave system does bridge the gap and both CA DPR and DFG are dispatched by "Northern" in Ranco Cordova. Recognizing the problems of having all voice/data circuits on one southerly path entering/leaving the county seat, the Forest Service, installed microwave when they updated the Toiyabe National Forest's radio system back in 1987/1988. They put a dish up on the Sheriff's station in Bridgeport, which makes a short hop to the Ranger Station, which then links to a local mountain, and then into Reno, some of it via the State of Nevada's microwave system. When I was working out of the Ranger Station in Bridgeport, we dialed an access code and brought up a dial tone in Reno. Saved us big bucks on long distance. I have digressed here.
I have been contacted about putting one in by a couple of different people in the past year or so. I have some limitations that prevent it, however. First, as I understand it I need to dedicate one computer to the online scanner. I don't have a second computer to spare. Even if I did I do not have space for another one in my condo. When I lived in Bridgeport I had a 4 bedroom house, a 28 x 30 foot garage, and the best darn view out the windows I probably will ever have from a house. When I moved to Mammoth the amount of equity from that house was almost laughable in this town and quickly realized I would be moving into a smallish condo, versus buying a single family house.
I have an 8 month season ending November 30th with the company I work for a 10 hour, 4 day schedule, and am quite busy getting ready for winter or am taking advantage of the last opportunities to recreate without snow. Hopefully, when winter hits, I will be able to update the database for Mono and Inyo Counties.
