Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) has hired a set of subcontractors to manage and build its $64 million upgrade to a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in northern New Mexico.
Pulse Broadband will manage the entire project and perform the network engineering. Wesco International will be responsible for procurement, materials management, warehousing and logistics. KCEC is in negotiations with two other companies, Atlantic Engineering and TCS, for construction services.
Preliminary work on the nearly 3,000-mile network has already started.
Kit Carson’s service area covers more than 29,000 homes and businesses in Taos, Colfax and Rio Arriba counties.
Kit Carson CEO Luis Reyes said: “This new network will transform our area, and the contractors we have selected will allow us to maximize the use of local workers and subcontractors. We are not only adding the skills of experienced network designers and builders like Pulse Broadband, but we are showing a commitment to bring local jobs, education and training into our communities. These benefits will last for many years to come. We estimate between 200 and 300 good paying jobs will be created during the construction phase.”
KCEC is one of 13 electric cooperatives that serve rural New Mexico communities, and one of 44 distribution cooperatives receiving power from Tri-State Generation and Transmission of Denver. Formed in 1944, KCEC is the second-largest cooperative in the state of New Mexico. Along with electrical service, Kit Carson also offers its members Internet service, telecommunications and broadband service, and propane service.