Great Basin Internet returns to its downtown Reno roots

Its first spot was too small. Its second place was too big. But Great Basin Internet Service thinks its next space will be just right.

Next month the company moves into its new digs at 241 Ridge St., commonly called the Western Title building. It's taken 5,200 square feet on the fourth floor, about half of what it has now at 745 W. Moana.

The move to a smaller space does not signal any loss of business for the company, says David Zybert, marketing manager. Business remains stable, as does employment at 28. The decision to move, made when the current five-year lease ended, had more to do with location than gross space.

The Internet company had some specific requirements as it worked with Colliers International broker Tim Ruffin: it had to be on or near fiber networks. From the Ridge Street location, it can tap into fiber networks by AT&T, Idacomm and Charter. "It can cost thousands to bring the fiber," says Zybert.

It's also a good location from which to provide wireless service, says Bruce Robertson, president. It offers good line-of-sight to aim transmission dishes at three vital points: the data center on Fifth Street, Silver Legacy and Grand Sierra Resort.

Plus, employees like it. And not just for the ambience of walk-to bistros and boutiques. Many employees have ridden the residential wave to the North Valleys. Some employees live on the Sierra Spirit free bus route, and the college employees like being close to campus.

Plus the new location is close to Great Basin's birthplace on West Fifth Street. But it's not about nostalgia. During all its moves, the company has continued to house its Internet equipment at its initial location. Moving it would interrupt service, and a lost connection is the one thing Web surfers cannot abide.

Downtown 's being revitalized, adds Zybert. "They've made efforts to bring the arts downtown, and clean up empty buildings. Nobody wants to be midtown anymore. Everybody's moving to South Meadows or back downtown."

During its initial growth spurt, Great Basin Internet moved several times. At its first office on Fifth Street it was so crowded that four techs shared two desks. "We breathed in shifts," jokes Zybert.

Next came a stint at 100 Washington St., which the company also outgrew. But it overcompensated in taking the roughly 10,000 square feet of space at 241 Moana.

The company did downsize one department: Web site design. That wasn't due to a dearth of customers, but rather a difficulty in hiring. The job required someone who could handle the creative design, the technical programming and client service. That's a lot to ask for in one person, Zybert notes. And, people that good were ultimately wooed away by corporations to become in-house Webmasters.

Great Basin remains one of the last independent Internet providers in the state, says Zybert. There were eight when it started.

At the time, he recalls, Internet service was provided out of San Francisco and it was expensive. Robertson, who wanted the service for his software company, bought five lines, figuring he'd sell four to pay for his, the fifth.

He found those tenants quick, and then some so many, in fact, said, "I want it, too," that Robertson founded Great Basin Internet Service. In the early years, says Zybert, sales increased 50 percent each month. "But now, corporate Internet service is a utility."