I live in the Alta Sierra Ranch area of rural Grass Valley I recently had an excellent discussion with the CEO of SmarterBroadband regarding their over-the-air wireless point-to-point residential high speed broadband throughput offerings, clear Line-of-Site (LOS) terrain challenges, monthly data offering delivery "caps" and their planned new system technology developments that are being considered. In light of poor wired ADSL copper service now offered by a major service provider, no long term fiber outside plant deployment programs in Alta Sierra Ranches by the County of Nevada, my discussion was very timely, productive and encouraging with SmarterBroadband. We also discussed 5G announcements by major service providers and "reality of lack of any near term timely deployment" since rural Grass Valley is not a high-density metro area. SmarterBroadband provides reliable broadband service and is interested in your Business. When you call them, tell them where you live (Grass Valley Residential Area-especially Alta Sierra or Alta Sierra Ranch) and what you have been experiencing in reliable/unreliable broadband service at your existing "contracted" speed (throughput). read more

After comparing my current internet service to other available options, I'm even more disappointed with what we've been paying for. For awhile, SBB was great!! And then Starlink came around. And then became available in the Nevada County area.... Obviously SBB cannot beat Starlink, but you'd think they would atleast try to be a little competitive to retain customers... We now currently pay around $130/month after router fees for internet advertised at only 25 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. Despite that, the service barely functions reliably for normal household use. Netflix buffers even on data-saving mode. School assignments and online tests take forever to load. My toddler's speech and learning apps frequently freeze or fail to load entirely. Many times I end up disconnecting from Wi-Fi and using cellular data instead because it performs better. What makes this worse is that they claimed we were somehow using 1,500-2,000 GB of data monthly while simultaneously providing internet too slow to consistently stream a movie without buffering. We checked everything ourselves: reduced streaming quality, monitored connected devices, tested usage with almost nothing on the network, and still experienced extremely poor performance. Instead of addressing the actual service problems, they repeatedly contacted us about "excessive usage" and then automatically moved us to this... service... (lol) which is what they call an "unlimited" plan which is ironic considering the plan can barely support basic streaming, my college coursework, or children's learning apps without buffering and interruptions. After looking into alternatives (STARLINK!!) it's honestly shocking how far behind this service is. Starlink is offering 200-400+ Mbps speeds, unlimited data, modern equipment, and dramatically better performance for $10 less than the new monthly price we're already paying for SBB. Starlink is even offering a promotional $99/month rate for the first three months while providing vastly faster speeds and better equipment. There IS a one time equipment fee of $349, but that's it. No monthly equipment charge. Paying premium pricing for internet that struggles to load homework assignments, online tests, Netflix on data-saving mode, or a toddler's speech-learning app is unacceptable. I cannot recommend this provider to anyone who depends on atleast decent, reliable internet for school, streaming, or any other basic everyday usage... I cannot imagine trying to work from home with this internet... read more

I have always recommended this company however, I must say I was disappointed with a request I made to get the cable end replaced that connects to my router. They quoted a charge of $ 85 I know a little bit about data cables to know that all it takes is to crimp a connector on to the cable. My connection still works, but I have it taped together. Guess I'll live with it. ...and I am currently a customer read more

The customer service has always been top tier, the employees are friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to help. It pays to go with a small business you can tell they really care. read more

I switched to them for better speeds and hoped that since they were local, they would provide good customer service. Speeds and customer service have been getting worse for months now. Outages are often, and I honestly can't wait until I can switch to something else. Their motto should be: "If the wind blows, our internet goes!" read more

Worst INTERNET SERVICE IVE EVER HAD. 100$/ month for slow speeds. Not to mention, The stupid lady running this business is awful. I called to cancel my service due to me moving, And before I put my 30 day notice in, they fucking called my landlord and told him I'm moving. Apparently there's a note on MY account to call so said landlord about keeping service. No one. Not one person told me there was a note to do so. Causing major problems with me moving out. Completely in acceptable. Absolutely to most fucked up company I've ever had to pay. The lady running the biz is rude, and robotic. She don't give two shits about anyone or their well being. Worst costumer service. Worst internet. read more

SmarterBroadband was able to provide service to my location after years of struggling without real internet. The equipment had to be installed in a tree (which does require the use of a contracted climber), but after over a year I can say I am extremely pleased with the stability and speed of the connection. Any planned outages are communicated in advance, and I do not experience the typical "peak hours" congestion that I have seen on other services. Compared to satellite, this service is faster, cheaper, and with much higher data caps, without the added latency so I can game as much as I want! Highly recommend this service to anybody in their service area that does not have access to cable broadband. Hands down the best service for rural users. read more

Top marks for customer service to a non-customer. I left a message to enquire if I could get service. Tina left me a message within an hour saying apologetically that they didn't cover my area, but took the time to make recommendations and even said if there was anything else she could do, call me back. read more

awesome company. having lived in an area where service was the pits, smarter was a great find. wasted time and money on satelite providers that failed. they even recently upgraded my dish at no charge. just got a call from them acknowledging a power outage in my area that may interrupt service and their tech had solved the prob by the end of the call. i have to upload pics for on line picture frame designing and the back and forth between customers puts my interweb to the test. read some sorry reviews here, but i'm glad i took the time to write mine, cause i think smarterbroadband deserves it. tom@abreugallery.com read more

Absolute garbage, wouldnt want this internet for free. Never works. Down multiple times a week; sometimes it doesnt work at all, sometimes its extremely slow. Do not give these people your money, way overpriced. Dial up was better than this. read more

SmarterBroadband is Very frustrating, I've switched to Verizon Gateway. It's Much faster and 30% cheaper. I was constantly being disconnected from my TVs and computer networks. They are way overpriced for what they provide. read more

I can't say enough good things about this company! It is so nice to call and get a friendly voice on the other end of the line. Our reception is great and when the service goes down I get a phone call and a text. They call and text updates as to what is happening i.e. the service techs can't get to a tower because of snow or downed trees. They are great at helping me troubleshoot over the phone and their techs are friendly and professional! I wish they were down in the Sacramento area too! read more

Excellent uptime, great service, affordable and reliable internet access. In the many years of enlisting their service for both personal and home business needs, we are relieved knowing that our internet access is stable and supported should any problem arise. This was never the case for prior providers that serviced our rural location. I highly recommend. read more

Called and they had a 2 week wait for installs and eventually a nice guy named Tank came out to install in September 2022 and he was very polite and professional. He took the time to explain how he was going to install, being extra careful to do a professional install not to damage the home or crack the stucco. He gave some tips on burying the cable out to the receiver. As for the service, we are used to having high-speed cable but Smarter Broadband does not disappoint. Signed up for the 9mbps and we use it daily for Zoom meetings, working online and streaming Disney+ Netflix and Hulu. The streaming TV has been awesome, even without satellite. Had a few interruptions in zoom, but that sometimes happened at my old place with Comcast too. Bonus: We had a storm and their tower had a power outage, they went and installed a generator within a couple of hours!! Later I had a dog chew through a line and they came out same day and repaired our wiring for a reasonable fee! That tech was also super nice! Very happy! read more

Great service, pricing and communication! Fast speed internet/download- compared to other service providers it is the best service provider and internet speed I have had in my home ever. Great personable local customer service.Installation technicians were friendly and professional. I would highly recommend this company! read more

We have been with Smarter Broadband for many years. The service used to work fine. Now as the day goes on, the service gets slower and slower to the point where it is nonfunctional for even email. It works OK in the very early mornings but the rest of the day I have resorted to using the hotspot on my phone for even simple internet use such as online banking. I called customer service and they try to be helpful, but the bottom line is the number of users on the service has outgrown their capacity. read more

My review is based on the most recent response to an issue we were having with our internet reception. We've been long time customers and recently in the last year our connections were frequently dropped. Without internet, work comes to a screaming halt therefore the frustration became too much. After calling several times and the inability to rectify the problem over the phone, Preston came to the rescue. He was thorough and patient. Preston was able to solve the issue quickly and put an end to the dropped internet situation. He went above and beyond and we are thrilled he was able to help us. His customer skills are a 10 and his willingness to make sure we were taken care of is priceless. Preston is an asset to SmarterBroadband as his ability to resolve the issue has allowed us to remain a custom. Otherwise we were looking elsewhere for a resolution to our internet needs. Good job Preston! Thank you!!! read more

It is difficult to find large high speed internet providers in the mountains. Most rural houses are too far away from a node/junction for land based fiber carriers. But there is a demand. And where there's a demand there's a solution. The solution for me wasn't satellite. I found out after talking to them, and they will admit this, that satellite is not good for gamers. The problem isnt download speed it is a different problem called lag, ping or latency. This is caused because the signal has to travel 10,000-30,000 miles up and that same distance back down from satellite. This broadcast distance causes a delay. So you can forget about playing online PS4, Xbox or PC games. The solution is Smarter Broadband. I can't say enough of how delighted I've been as a customer. I initially found them because of all the great reviews other customers posted online on apps like Yelp and Google. They reach customers in Nevada County and Colfax wirelessly from cell towers. Is it slow. No. My package I get between 30-165 ms latency, 12 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload. I verified it by googling AT&T Internet Speed Test and used the AT&T tool to verify. Their customer service is extraordinary. They are professional, pleasant and straight forward. They don't over promise and under deliver. So count me as a pleased customer. I was with another wireless local broadband carrier before switching. My experience was terrible. Frequent disruptions in service and inconsistent connection speeds. If you're not happy with our carrier these guys are definitely worth checking out. read more

So happy with our internet! Great customer service and knowledgeable employees that worked hard to get us great connection! read more

Theses folks are trying their best to keep us on-line and at best speeds possible. Call and you get answers-not a machine! PG&E is the biggest problem causing the glitches and we all have to live with it. read more

I have been a customer for over 6 years and sometimes the service is great, sometimes I am unable to get any internet at all. I call customer service and it improves for a while then back to having issues again. Most problems are in the evening when they have oversold their bandwidth and you're left struggling to get a connection and fighting others to get a stream. When it works it is great but lately I've been having issues more often than not. Nothing worse than a technician telling you all is ok but you know it is not. I strongly suggest if you have an option, go elsewhere! They have built in customer frustration into their business model and figure you'll just deal with it and stop calling but most likely you will have problems with their service. read more

Very impressed with the quality of RELIABLE service so far with Smarterbroadband. When I first moved to the area i decided that Huges/Dish was the best deal and speeds possible. Boy was I wrong and locked into a 2 year agreement anyway. I was on a 15 Mps down and a 1.5 Mps up package and was limited to 15GB data cap during standard hours. Usually I was at best at 4 to 5 Mps download and most of the time not that good. If there was a storm in the area my connection suffered. It was difficult coming from the silicon valley area before moving here until I found Smarter. I would never get back on satellite in a million years unless there was not other option. So I reached out to all of the wireless providers in the area and spoke with the team at Smarter and explained how they don't overload circuits/connection points with too many users. They sold me based on their knowledge of networks and pricing was basically the same as I was paying before with satellite. I had an installer come out and was able to answer all of my tech questions based on me being new to being with a WISP. The guy knew his stuff on every question I threw at him with regard to their network or equipment and was super cool. I ended up signing up for a 15Mps download and a 2 Mps upload package. Anyway I do an internet based radio show from the house and was able to just barely push it with satellite if the weather was clear and had to disconnect all of my other devices to get the stream running. Now after having Smarter installed I can push a live HD video stream to my radio station and I hardly touch my 120GB data cap. While I do have some issues with minor packet loss on upload of live video it is amazing the reliability and constant speed on download and upload. Watching videos and downloading music has been amazing again. I would even go out and say that my last DSL connection before I moved to the area was not as fast and constant as my new service with SmarterBroadband. I would highly recommend Smarter as the best internet service provider in the area. (Until someone can run fiber to my house lol) I also uploaded a side by side speed test from both providers. Thank you SmarterBroadband you guys and gals rock! read more

SmarterBroadband - HugesNet/DishNet vs Smarterbroadband - Internet Service Providers Near Me - Grass Valley, California

I moved to an area in the Grass Valley with only limited internet service choices two years ago. I went with Verizon Wireless for all of my voice and data communication needs, but was never satisfied with the speed or reliability of my nternet connection. I recently contracted with a new provider to my area, SmarterBroadband, and was very impressed with both the skill and professionalism of the installer, and the quality of the service. If you are looking at options for internet service in a rural area they cover, definitely give them a call. Their plans are competitively priced and their customer service is exemplary. Highly recommend. read more

This is the worst internet provider we have ever used, and it is incredibly expensive. The only reason we use it is because it has more download than Hughes net (our other option.) We have days when the internet will drop off 10 to 15 times in the middle of a project. Truly, if we had another choice, we'd change in a minute. High cost and very, very poor service. read more

I recently signed up with Smarter Broadband after using a satellite company for what was suppose to be high speed but was Garbage. I am beyond Happy and Super Satisfied with the outcome. I was hesitant at first but I Love it !!! I would definitely recommend them to anybody that has been using satellite internet. They will map out your area and tell you whether they can help you or not for free. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE STAFF AT SMARTER BROADBAND Elaine Pool Grass Valley, Ca. Still Happy with this service !!! read more

While they have had their problems as many wireless ISP have had, these guys have striven to resolve problems as quickly as possible, even when they are at the mercy of their suppliers. Telephone wait times are generally acceptable, and the call-back feature without loosing my place in line is pretty cool. Even during off-hours, their agents have often checked their voicemail and called back during daytime hours (even on weekends, but always by the following Monday). Kudos to their overall service. read more

so far so good.....seems like excellent service and function.. as good as anything in bay area..I would say best in nevada county. excellent customer service. read more

Called today and James came out to solve my issues. He rocked it in the rain and stuck it out to get me running smoothly on the internet. Thanks SmarterBroadband and especially James who went above and beyond to get the job done. read more

Overall the service is just "meh". I have called many times and you usually have to leave a message and then wait for a return call... The internet goes out periodically/frequently and when I called they suggested me "upgrading" their (own) product for approximately $300.00 with a $200.00 "tree climbing" charge. Really? So I should pay $500.00 to upgrade their cruddy product... Comcast (sadly) is way better. Here is a novel business idea, upgrade your own product and keep a lifelong customer with a quality product? I am thinking DigiPath moving forward. read more

As a " charter member" of Smarter Broadband, I have seen their service decrease dramatically over the years. When we first signed on, internet access was almost immediate. During the last year, and especially the last 6 months, service has deteriorated badly, with lots of robocalls from them indicating service might be down while they update. Six times during the last month! And service is more like dialup rather than "high speed" internet. Really tired of their excuses. Right now I have been trying from home to connect. Not happening. Very disappointed with their service and excuses! They definitely need to pay for more bandwidth to service their customers! read more

My boyfriend has smarter broadband at his house, we ran into some issues with out router. Greg from IT was amazingly helpful. Ran the usual tests and after some feedback from my boyfriend he told us we could come down and exchange the routers. 20 minutes later we are back online and everything is back to normal. Thanks Greg you rock read more

Adam and Fran, along with their entire staff are efficient, knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful when you have a problem. We have been with them for many years, since the beginning, and have always had good service. There have been problems from time to time with slow internet but I know I can always call them to check on any potential problems, knowing that they will get right on it to improve our service. Best internet in our area. read more

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION for SMARTER BROADBAND Even though we are in a marginal area, Smarter Broadband has continued to improve on our service by installing bigger servers, updated routers, and better electronics. Recently, our service was slowing down so I gave them a call. Within a short time, our Internet service was humming along at better speeds than ever. I don't know what they did, but they fixed it - like they always do - quickly and with a smile. This is the HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION for Smarter Broadband. They are experienced, service oriented and LOCAL, including their phone support. read more

They are the best internet provider in Auburn/Nevada City area. We think they are fantastic- reliable, friendly, responsive. If your property is located so your satellite from them can line up with their servers, it will work (may depend on where you live and visibility). Went from ridiculously slow internet to wonderful internet. Kids were ecstatic. read more

Very pleased with their customer service. My Internet went down because of a tree branch that moved and they were quick to respond and accommodating to my busy schedule. read more

Greg did a great job assisting us and even called me back when we got disconnected to make sure things worked out. Their internet works great considering the rural area. Thanks for the help! read more

This isa hard review to write. First, the people I have dealt with have generally been friendly and service minded. Installation was well done. However, Their service is inconsistent and unreliable. I run a home-based internet business and need a reliable, dependable, full-on internet connection during business hours. Sadly, they are unable to provide this. As a previous review states, their service was fine earlier this year then completely fell apart beginning in August. 2+ weeks down, with no explanation or credit on my bill. Then, intermittent interruptions at least once or twice a week from then on. Sometimes down for a full day. Service called back maybe 1/2 the time. When their service is up, is it good? yes. Is it better than Hughes? YES, is it better than no service, of course. Is it dependable enough to run a business on? NO. Do they even promise to provide service? NO (Read your contract). Do they provide any way to monitor your cap/usage? NO Am I moving away for them and canceling my service and choosing a cable company with the worst customer service record ever but with reliable service? Sadly, YES, but I have to. So, bottom line, if you want to surf, watch movies, and don't mind the regular interruptions in service, then they are a good option. April 2016. I was billed for removal of hardware and early termination of my account, then the owner responded here that someone took over my account, so it appears I should not have been billed? I have a call into owner Adam and we'll see what transpires from here. read more

Been a customer since 2006, worked fine until last year with almost zero outages. Then came the radio failures and connection failures on their end. Never had a problem over many years, then it all fell apart. I have made so many calls to them over the past year. Sad that they pushed this customer away. read more

They tell you you will get a high speed connection when you first sign up. You do have one but then after 1 year or so they drastically reduce your speed connection without telling you and you continue to pay the same price. Then when you call them about it they say that you never had the high speed burst. They also took all their plans off their website which used to explain the burst and how it worked for the plan you originally were promised. 6 months or so ago my internet went down and it was down for 5 days. They would not come out and fix it. Finally they came out. I pay for the 6 meg plan. Just found out that if it drops down to 3 megs they say that is normal and I need to expect the slowness depending on what their other customers are doing online. that is bs!!! read more

So so so so happy to finally have an option other than HughesNet. Smarter Boradband finally installed a Tower near my house and the service is amazing. The guys who did the installation were nice and did a great job. I've only had service for 1 day now, but from what I can tell, I am going to love it. I can finally stream videos and surf the internet without a 10 second delay everytime I click a link. The only reason I gave them 4 starts instead of 5 is that I am disappointed that their system hides the public IP address assigned to the account, so DDNS is not an option. Instead, I have to pay $10/month for a static IP. I know this is not an issue for 90% of the people out there, but it may matter for a few people. read more