Variety Is the Game Plan at Newroads

Companies accepted the bad with the good as the Internet evolved into an integral part of daily business. But Wayne King, founder of Newroads Telecom Inc. in Fort Smith, said there’s no reason for businesses to view the Internet as a necessary evil.

Content filtering, one of eight services provided by Newroads, is available for businesses that want to curb the habits of employees who wander from their intended tasks while surfing the Net.

“We’re finding out about 35 to 40 percent of people at work are surfing [the Internet] for personal interests,” King said. “Whether its reading about sports or gambling, there’s lots of lost productivity. A lot of employees are really addicted to surfing.”

King said content filtering has become a focal point for Newroads, and “aggressive marketing efforts” will soon teach businesses the benefits of implementing the service in their computer systems.

“A lot of people don’t know [content filtering] is available,” King said. “Most companies don’t have it available, and if they do, they have a very weak one that doesn’t do a very good job. Ours is very definable. It doesn’t have to be screenable. You can get as selective as you want. It’s a good futuristic service. I don’t think anybody has really gone after that market. I think it’s a niche that needs to be filled.”

Newroads also provides local, long-distance and wireless phone service, Web hosting, dial up, digital subscriber lines (DSL) and frame-relay and T1 connectivity. Its local phone service is available at all Southwestern Bell areas in Arkansas.

King said the company’s diversity allows for a stronger infrastructure. As the former CEO of Internet Partners of America, King said about 95 percent of IPA’s business was dial-up service.

“We’ve got eight different services we’re providing,” King said. “We have a lot bigger infrastructure to grow from and build off of. We have so much more potential. Our average revenue is already two-and-a-half times what it was with IPA.”

The two-year-old company has installed wireless equipment on towers at 12 locations including Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Siloam Springs, Berryville, Eureka Springs, Alma, Fort Smith, Greenwood and Poteau, Okla. And King expects to be on towers in both Carthage and Joplin, Mo., in February. King said those two sites would complete the first cycle of Newroads’ growth area. He expects to expand to 20 or more towers by the end of the year.

“We’re probably going to sit for a while with our footprint and really mature it,” King said. “We’re filling in some spots. There are some markets out there that are under-served.”

Newroads has been filling several needs for businesses and the private sector. One of its objectives is to provide its services for those in rural areas.

King pointed out that areas such as Eureka Springs and Berryville, though only about 10 miles apart, are on different local access and transport areas (LATAs). Eureka Springs is on a Northwest Arkansas LATA, while Berryville is on a Little Rock LATA.

“We’re shooting our own microwave link between the two towns,” King said. “It’s a very clean, dependable network.

“And we’re providing some high-speed Internet service. A town like Berryville has very little or no broadband … We can give them a high-speed connection. I think it’s going to be a big seller in the rural market. In a lot of cases, [Southwestern] Bell is not planning on bringing [high-speed connection] in those areas.”

Newroads has 22 employees, many of whom came over from the former IPA team.

“We’re trying to get there,” King said. “We’ve been very fortunate.”