First Person Product Report

Mike Walker

I have never met Smarter Broadband’s founder, Adam Brodel.  From speaking with him on the phone, I’d imagine he might be English, but he certainly qualifies as what George Gilder calls “a cowboy” …see, - Gilder Technology Report,  “Wireless Shootout: Suits Vs. Cowboys”  

At Sunset Travel, we’ve hoed the long row from using old AT&T data lines to having the county’s’s first operating DSL account. We’ve tried relying on Verizon’s PCMCIA AirCard for web access, and even had NCCN’s staff all over my roof (in August!) trying to align a receiver with their short lived antenna experiment on Wolf Mountain.

But home and residence offices are in Hidden Valley, two miles south of the Fairgrounds- in the middle of nowhere as far as the phone and cable companies are concerned. The closest I was to getting broadband was having had Cat 5 cable installed while remodeling. How I’d actually, eventually hook-up was anybody’s guess. Satellite doesn’t work very well with the maximum-security systems of the travel industry. Internet over power lines, maybe?

About two weeks ago, I was amazed to see a “Smarter Broadband” sign on Hidden Valley Road at Old Auburn. I called and Adam Brodel explained the basics, that wireless broadband was up and running in the Sherwood Forest area two miles away. I checked him out with a couple of buddies who always seem to be in the know about ISP’s in Nevada County and he had good references, very good!