As a result of growth and an increased demand for telecommunications services in northern New Mexico, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) established a new Telecommunications Division to provide reliable and modern technologies, such as mobile phone capabilities, improved long-distance service, and high-speed Internet, to current electric customers and to residents and businesses in underserved areas. The Taos Broadband Project, funded by the Rural Utilities Service, involved the installation of approximately 2,100 miles of new fiber-optic cable.
Tierra worked with numerous agencies and provided a variety of right of way, environmental, and cultural resources services for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Carson National Forest. Tierra acquired more than 2,000 permits from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) for aerial and underground fiber-optic crossings and linear installations, as well as numerous County road-crossing permits. Right of way staff negotiated agreements with the New Mexico State Land Office and grants of easements with the BLM’s Taos Field Office. Tierra also assisted KCEC with Tribal liaison and consultation with the Taos Pueblo and Picuris Pueblo.
Tierra’s Geographic Information System Department fulfilled all mapping requirements for NMDOT permit applications. The project received strong support from the communities within and adjacent to Taos County, as well as from State and Federal agencies within New Mexico.
