EAST BRIDGEWATER — Oct. 19, 2026 — A fiber company that says it will build and maintain T-Mobile’s T-Fiber network pitched the East Bridgewater Select Board on Monday on overbuilding the town’s cable system with fiber, a privately funded project its representatives said could take two to three years to finish. The board also held its annual tax classification hearing and heard how state housing-law noncompliance is costing the town grants.
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Mike Elam, who identified himself as vice president of community affairs and market development for i3 Broadband, said the company is seeking the town’s help navigating local permits.
What we’re proposing is a full overbuild of your cable system with fiber.
— Mike Elam, i3 Broadband 26:52
Elam said the Peoria, Illinois, company closed a partnership with T-Mobile about two and a half weeks earlier and will build and maintain the network, which residents will see marketed as T-Fiber. He said the work would be permitted sector by sector, in blocks of about 250 to 300 homes, with the mix of aerial and underground lines still being designed.
Elam said utility-pole attachment applications have moved far slower than expected in Massachusetts and that the company would rather bury lines by plowing, boring or micro-trenching where there is room. He said the company would post bonds, file local permits, handle traffic control and pay for any damage, and called the project a multimillion-dollar private investment.
Asked when residents could expect service, Calvin Delaney said the rollout would be gradual and would probably take two or three years in all, depending heavily on how much can go underground.
Asked about cost, Elam said service generally runs about $55 a month for 1 gig and $65 for 2 gig, with no charge for the modem or connection, but said pricing will be dictated by the market and the company will match competitors that cut prices. He said the company does not offer television service. 50:35
Select Board member Peter Spagone Jr. said he had sat through the company’s presentation at the town’s regular sessions with department heads, held the first and third Wednesday of each month, and urged the company to keep using them.
At the tax classification hearing, the town’s assessor, Paula Wolfe, said values rose about 5% to 6% again, with the average single-family assessment climbing from $542,717 to $560,719, and that last year’s average single-family bill of $7,418.94 would rise about $250. Commercial, industrial and personal property make up only 12% of the town’s base, the assessor said, so a 10% shift would save residential owners $107 while raising commercial bills $1,300.
The Board of Assessors recommended a single rate, a residential factor of 1 and no open space discount, small commercial exemption or residential exemption. Spagone moved the recommendation, and members voted aye on a voice vote. Wolfe said the office would submit the figures the next day to get the tax rate set.
