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Conterra Networks, which has been providing fiber-optic network services for more than 25 years, is continuing to expand service in the El Paso-Las Cruces area, with local clients that include La Clinica de Familia (LCDF), Gadsden Independent School District and the City of Las Cruces, with city contracts at Las Cruces International Airport and West Mesa Industrial Park.
“The thing that really appealed to me about Conterra … they are very community oriented,” said Senior Account Executive Doug Boberg of Las Cruces, who recently joined the company.
“They are very committed to the customers they do business with. It really does feel like a family,” said Boberg, who is the principal coordinator for the Dress the Child program that has provided new clothes and shoes each year to hundreds of children in Las Cruces Public Schools and GISD.
Conterra began in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the 1990s by providing a fiber backbone for carriers like AT&T and Verizon, along with fiber to area school districts. They also provide business Internet; ethernet and VoIP technology that link multiple business locations, government, school districts and commercial businesses; along with back-up services if a network goes down.
“We have an extensive network here in Las Cruces and it’s constantly expanding,” said Conterra Senior Account Executive Carlos Medina.
Conterra’s 100 percent fiber-based network is why LCDF partnered with the company for its 18 locations throughout Doña Ana County, said Medina, who lives in Las Cruces.
Providing fiber for all its services rather than a mix of copper, coaxial and fiber “improves the performance of the network and the quality of the services you get,” said Conterra Area Sales Manager Kirk Jefferson, a native of El Paso.
“If you’ve got fiber in the ground, you can upgrade and expand the network,” Boberg said. “If you have copper or coax underground, you have to rip it out and replace it to be fully fiber.”
Sales Engineer Pablo Rojo of El Paso said he worked with a local car dealership that had gotten used to poor Internet service.
“Those times are over,” Rojo said. “You don’t have to put up with that kind of stuff. The way we approach our clients is to ask questions … to help them fulfill their mission,” he said. “We give them exactly what they need, and we have an idea for the future – what do you want to do down the line?”
Boberg said Conterra has moved into the Southwest as part of its focus on underserved markets like El Paso and Las Cruces/Doña Ana County.
Having a premium fiber network is important to Las Cruces, Boberg said, because its availability is one thing businesses look for when they relocate or expand.
“If Internet is slow or unreliable and, if you don’t have access to premium band-width services, they are likely to pass your city by,” Boberg said.
“Businesses in Las Cruces have demanded better Internet service, and Conterra Networks is here to deliver,” said Conterra President and CEO Craig Gunderson.
The company has invested more than $35 million in its El Paso fiber-optic network over the past five years and has more than 400 miles of fiber in the El Paso-Las Cruces area, Conterra said. Its investment in New Mexico, which includes both Albuquerque and Las Cruces, totals $5 million.
“Southern New Mexico is an important market for Conterra, and we look forward to great things happening in the future,” Jefferson said.
Contact Doug Boberg at 575-644-9469 and dboberg@conterra.com, Carlos Medina at 575-405-1300 and cmedina@conterra.com or Kirk Jefferson at 915-308-9701.
Visit conterra.com.
