Just over a month ago, pleasantly surprised visitors to Market Salamander, Books and Crannies, Mello Out, Maxwell's Pub and Dank's Deli to name a few, as well as many local residents enjoying a sunny afternoon on one of Washington Street's benches discovered that most 21st-century-of-conveniences, wireless broadband connectivity, tickling their laptops. In fact, in a typically quiet and unassuming manner, Jay Hubbard, founder of local ISP Middleburg Online and Chief Production Editor of this newspaper, is working to make the town of Middleburg a very surprising first in one of the country's fastest growing counties: a hotspot, in and of itself.

"So far, we've got better-than-decent-coverage over large portions of Middleburg's business district," says Hubbard, not without just a hint of pride in his voice. "Service will become more ubiquitous over the coming months, as long as it's of benefit to our customers and our community."

Just three years ago, the town of Zamora, in the Castillay Leon region of Spain, was recognized as one of the modern wonders of the world, the first city to bathe its entire metro area in wireless broadband connectivity, proving not only that wireless technology was a viable alternative to more traditional plug-and-play "pipelines" but showcasing the benefits to businesses and individuals alike when visitors and residents could access the world's information, quite literally, anytime, anywhere.

Taking advantage of his knowledge of wireless technology, built over the last four years providing wireless internet access to residential and business subscribers in the Middleburg area, Hubbard began constructing a new, publicly accessible network that would provide access to the Town's, the Eccentric's and Google's websites free of charge. Scaleable rates, from $3.95 for an hour, $9.95 a day, $19.95 a week, and all the way to $49.95 for an entire month, grant users unlimited access to the World Wide Web at speeds approximating commercial T1 lines.

A summer visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina first piqued Hubbard's interest when, on little more than a whim, he flipped open his own personal laptop to see what kind of connectivity he could find if, indeed, any. "There were a surprising number of providers down there, to be honest," said Hubbard. "There we were, on vacation at the beach of all places, and the Web was literally everywhere. It only made sense to see if we couldn't provide a similar service for our own community when we got home."

Within hours of going hot a little more than a month ago, the new wireless service was being accessed by people who, just like Hubbard, were eager to get online. Driven by little more than word of mouth, curiosity or just the simple need to communicate with the office, over 30 people have taken advantage of the new service in its first 30 days of availability.

"We'll continue to work with local businesses and residents to raise their awareness of the service over the coming weeks and months," adds Hubbard. "We're hoping that once word gets out, this can really be a viable and beneficial service for everyone in Middleburg, and particularly for all the people who visit, for business and for pleasure. I'd like to provide access-coupons that businesses could give out to their patrons, and we're working to design some sort of 'Wireless Here!' seal that businesses could showcase in their establishments to drive both usage and foot-traffic."

The service is new, as Hubbard is quick to admit, and service doesn't yet quite blanket all of the town's business district.

"People may notice me wandering around town with my laptop out and open over the next few months," Hubbard laughs. "I'll be looking for areas that aren't getting quite the coverage they could or should and working to expand to those areas."

The very fact that wireless broadband connectivity is now publicly available in Middleburg speaks volumes about Hubbard's entrepreneurial spirit, but more than that it speaks to his sense of community. Middleburg, Virginia, out on the bleeding-edge of 21st century technology and convenience. Who'd've thunk it?

"There's no good reason NOT to provide this service," Hubbard says. "Wireless is here to stay and I can't think of a better place to have it than in Middleburg."