Telecommuting from the Mountains. (Ned Gazette)

When the sun rises, and the day comes to light, people wake up and go to work. But in Nederland some have taken to a new way of life, and a new way of working, delivering data via satelite, cable or dsl from right here in town. Telecommuters have become a regular sight in Nederland at local coffee houses, restaurants, businesses and public spaces boasting free wi-fi. Nederland has become rich and vibrant with technology that enables people to work remotely for local and national companies, interacting world-wide, and creating revenue globally.

Mark Brundege of Sun Microsystems started working from home just over two years ago. “There was no point to being in the office when your co-workers and bosses are not there,” Mark explained. He had commuted to the office for five years, and a lot of time was wasted. “I can get more hours of work done at home because it’s easier to deal with people in widely dispersed time zones.” Now he can take a phone conference at 1:30 a.m. to India without having to travel to the office. Mark says that reliable broadband internet is most important for telecommuters. He also points out that cell service is very important and is much needed for the telecommute community of Nederland.

Lance Smeltekop is a regular telecommuter at the Happy Trails Coffee House. He can often be found sitting behind his computer in the back of the train car sipping away on his coffee while he works. He telecommutes an average of 2-3 days a week for IBM. Lance explains that he wasn’t able to start telecommuting in Nederland until he found reliable free wi-fi. He commented, “The only drawback in Ned is the lack of cell service, I was very disappointed when the cell tower was squashed.” Lance works in Finance for IBM and often works with clients in Europe and Asia. He has to often wake up early and stay up late communicating to clients abroad. Having a flexable 24-hour schedule optimizes his abilities. Lance explains, “I’m a more productive person now, and my mind has turned into multi-task.”. In a results-driven business, what matters most is that the job gets done.

Telecommuting is supporting Nederland’s local economy because employed people are staying and spending locally. This is not your typical bedroom community, this community is vibrant with technologically inclined, locally motivated, remotely employed, telecommuters. They typically work longer hours and are often availabe 24 hours a day. You may see their office lights glowing through the night, but with rising gas prices and global warming, looking to remote employment is a viable option for locals with like-minded employers.