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Verizon project will benefit only Mammoth once finished |
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Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
Completion date, however, still pending
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 The end of the cable lies on the ground. According to Swall Meadows resident Mike Levine, the cable is still lying there today.SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Swall Meadows local Mike Levine submitted photos he took on Nov. 30, 2007, and claims the project is still lying in the same condition to this very day, raising bigger questions as to the project's status in general.
Approved in the summer of 2007, Verizon had hoped to have the project completed quickly, but a delay in parts caused them to push the completion date back, and now, Mother Nature will most likely force them to push the date back even further.
“We were hoping to have the project completed by January, but the manufacturer ran out of the fasteners we need and hasn't produced any more for us,” said Michael Page, the project's point person for Verizon. “The fasteners attach the cable to the pole. If weather is not a factor, then we hope to have the project finished by March; but, weather will probably be a factor.”
The project itself is meant to connect Mammoth to Bishop through the fiber optic cable. The end result will give Mammoth the ability eventually to get more high speed Internet capabilities.
“Mammoth ran out of high speed capacity, so the project is meant to act as a pipe to connect Verizon's interoffice facilities in Mammoth and Bishop,” Page said. “Installing the cable will not, in itself, bring more high speed Internet access. We will still have to install more equipment later, but the fiber optic cable at least gives Mammoth the ability to hook up.”
A common misconception that has surrounded this project is that all the communities between Bishop and Mammoth, such as Swall Meadows, will also receive high speed Internet capabilities, but Page stated this is not true.
“No one between Bishop and Mammoth will see any benefits from this project,” Page stated. “It is simply meant to connect the two and give Mammoth more high speed Internet capability.”
The 40-mile project is being paid for entirely by Verizon and a small portion of it so far has had to go underground.
“The section between Bishop and Pine Creek did have to go underground, but it has been done already,” Page stated. He didn't know if any other sections would be going underground, but it has been suggested by some that this may be the real reason why the project has not progressed.
Some residents reportedly think that where the project has stopped is right at the U.S. Forest Service land boundary, and have questioned whether or not lack of an easement across the Forest Service land was part of the delay in the project.
However, two Forest Service District Rangers, Jon Regelbrugge and Gary Oye, said they not heard of any difficulties with easements for the project.
“Verizon applies for permits all the time,” Regelbrugge said.
“The Forest Service is pretty responsive to communication companies,” said Oye, and pointed to a recent project with NPG Cable at Casa Diablo, where additional capacity was brought in, as an example of how easily the Forest Service works with these types of companies.
As for the photos sent in by Levine, Page admitted that it was the project, but questioned when the photos had been taken and whether or not the project still looked like that.
“It may have looked like that at one point, but it doesn't look like that now,” Page said. “Our contractor confirmed that we don't leave our projects like that.”
Until spring, however, no one will no for sure, because the area is now well-covered with snow.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 January 2008 )
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