Linda Pond and Kevin Godden live in a beautiful home along Redwood Retreat Road in Gilroy . The only thing they would change , if they could , is the abysmal phone and internet service . Their home is less than ten miles from downtown Gilroy , but it might as well be off the grid . Pond and Godden say they have put up with service providers ’ unkept promises , been stuck with paltry data plans , and suffered with internet performance akin to the days of dial-up modems .
“ Frontier finally put fiber in , but only came up our road as far as the junction box about two miles away ,” Godden added . “ We ’ ve learned to work productively from home by being resourceful . Even when it comes to home entertainment , ours has not been a twenty-first century experience . We have to download a movie overnight in order to watch it the next day . Netflix isn ’ t even an option .”
And they ’ re not alone . People living in various parts of South County , many of whom work in Silicon Valley , still lack access to broadband services like high-speed internet , reliable cell phone service , and video-on-demand that are enjoyed by their neighbors just a few miles away .
Pond and Godden said things are looking up since they met Judd Wood , co-founder of Bullet Wireless , a Wireless Internet Service Provider ( WISP ) launched in 2017 . They said Wood came out to their property and offered a solution customized to their needs .
According to Wood , Bullet Wireless fills the gap created by other service providers that have left residential and commercial customers either underserved or unserved in terms of having broadband access .
“ Along Watsonville Road , Paradise Valley , Hecker Pass , and areas in San Martin , people suffer ,” Wood said . “ Not just private homeowners , but wineries and ranches . We go where Charter and other service providers can ’ t or won ’ t go . We conduct onsite visits and ask people how they use the internet , because usage varies widely .”
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