Hispanic Emphasis Widens Newroads

Vantage Telecom LLC, doing business as Newroads Telecom, has made serving the Hispanic community a priority. It is the first major local Internet service provider to offer both totally English and Spanish versions of its Web site.

Newroads is a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) providing wireless, long-distance, Web-hosting and broadband and dial-up ISP. The Fort Smith company has about 3,000 subscribers in the Arkansas River Valley and in Northwest Arkansas.

But Newroads is looking to increase that number dramatically in 2002 by marketing itself to Benton and Washington counties’ growing Hispanic population.

Scott Winter, Newroads’ vice president of sales and marketing, said the firm will spend more than $200,000 next year on marketing. He declined to say what percentage of that effort will be used for marketing to Hispanics, but hinted that it will be a significant chunk.

The strategy makes especially good sense on the Internet. A quick survey of the 10 other leading local ISPs showed that none of them has put any particular emphasis on reaching the Hispanic community. In most cases, Spanish instructions or links are not even offered.

According to 2000 census figures, the two-county area’s population grew 48 percent from 210,908 in 1990 to 311,259 in 2000. But the most dramatic area of growth came in the Hispanic community, which grew by 815 percent from 1990. (See chart). Hispanics now comprise about 12 percent of the two-county area, and as much as 20 percent each in the cities of Rogers and Springdale.

“We realize that there’s a large percentage of the local Hispanic population that is underserved,” Winter said. “We have added Spanish-speaking professionals to our staff, and we’re reaching out to Hispanics locally through our Web site and company phone message system.”

One simple click at www.mynewroads.com converts the entire English-based site to Spanish. The firm’s phone message system allows callers to “press eight” for a Spanish version of the mailbox menu, and even the ability to reach a Spanish-speaking human being.

But Newroads is also tailoring the Spanish version of its Internet to appeal to more members of the Hispanic community. Winter said the firm is working on new links and content that Spanish-speaking surfers say they’d like to see.

“The goal is to develop a site that’s community oriented, and this version just happens to be Hispanic community oriented,” Winter said.

Eddie Vega, president of EZ Spanish Media.com, said Newroads is advertising on his media company’s two Hispanic radio stations — KREB, 99.5 FM and KZAR, 1390 AM — and in his La Prensa de Northwest Arkansas (The Press of Northwest Arkansas) weekly newspaper.