ACUSHNET — Acushnet residents — and perhaps others on the SouthCoast — may have another internet and phone service provider option aside from Xfinity and Verizon, and those who make it known that they’re interested could be among the first to get hooked up.
According to i3 Broadband Vice President of Community Affairs and Market Development Mike Elam, the company — which specializes in fiber optic-based internet and phone service — is based in Illinois, but has had a stronghold in Rhode Island’s East Bay, I since 2017. Now, Elam says i3 Broadband wants to take advantage of its nearby Rhode Island presence by expanding into the SouthCoast.
As part of that campaign, i3 Broadband reached out to the town of Acushnet where Elam and some of his i3 colleagues attended the Aug. 26 Board of Selectmen meeting to introduce themselves and share their plans.
“… we’re looking for places to expand and unfortunately … there’s a lot of communities over here that have one choice,” Elam told the board. “Which means, when you don’t have competition, price tends to go up, customer service tends to go down and the overall satisfaction of everything just wanes. So, we’re looking to bring choice and competition to the area.”
According to Board of Selectmen Chair David Wojnar, most of Acushnet is only equipped for connection with Xfinity, with small pockets around town able to have Verizon.
“It’s been an issue for me, personally,” Wojnar told The Standard-Times of the lack of service provider competition. “Also, my colleagues on the board, both past and present, have said if there’s anything we can do to facilitate consumer choice, that’s a good thing.”
What does i3 Broadband offer?
With more and more people dropping cable television service and favoring streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, Elam said i3 Broadband is focusing only on internet and phone service, offering packages from 1 gigabit up to 8.
According to i3 Broadband’s Rhode Island-based General Manager Matt Torrenti, hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC)-based service, like Comcast (Xfinity) provides, has “a lot more things that can go wrong” than a fiber-based network.
“Unless it’s a major fiber cut … it’s going to be very reliable,” Torrenti told the selectmen.
“All of our customer service is literally right across the state line in East Bay,” pointed out Elam. “So if you have a problem, you’re not talking to another country — you’re talking to another state that’s right down the road.”
Another difference between i3 and its competitors, Elam said, is that i3 does not make residential customers commit to a lengthy contract.
“And that’s because we want to earn your business every month,” Elam said.
What does i3 Broadband have to do to set up in Acushnet?
According to Wojnar, i3 Broadband would not require an official town approval to provide service to Acushnet residents. In order to move forward, i3 Broadband needs to work with Eversource and Verizon for pole access, Wojnar and Elam said.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 2, according to Elam, the company was in the process of doing a “walk-out” in Acushnet to assess the town’s pole situation. If all goes well between i3, Verizon and Eversource over pole access and any needed prep work, an i3 contractor “goes out and starts building on the poles,” Torrenti had told the selectmen.
Torrenti estimated it could be 10 months to a year from the beginning of the process to the start of construction.
Acushnet Selectmen: Timing may be ideal for i3 Broadband
While learning about what i3’s process will entail moving forward, Wojnar mentioned a wealth of new double utility poles that have been installed around Acushnet.
“There’s new poles going up left and right, so I think the timing might be right for you,” Wojnar said, to which Elam indicated agreement.
Selectman Robert Hinkley said he believed “roughly” 212 new poles have been installed within Acushnet’s “two main corridors.” Between the new poles and the town’s layout, Hinkley said for i3 to form and execute a plan “would be pretty straightforward, I would think.”
While i3 Broadband is not required to work with local officials to expand into a community, Elam said “We want to,” given the company’s emphasis on “community partnership.”
“A lot of times the city has infrastructure they want to connect as well, so while we’re building out our infrastructure we may be able to help…,” Elam told The Standard-Times.
Is i3 Broadband’s move into Acushnet a sure thing?
While noting nothing is yet finalized, Elam said that if i3 Broadband does move forward with its expansion into Acushnet, it won’t be contingent upon any pre-gauged level of interest among residents.
“We’re a ‘Field of Dreams’ company if you will — if you build it, they will come,” Elam told The Standard-Times, though noting that town residents can indicate interest on the company website at any time, which may be beneficial for i3 and themselves.
“When we’re ready to light up customers, they are the first ones we will call,” Elam said. “It really helps us to know … if there’s an area where, say, 60% of these people want the service. Then we know we want to get to that area as fast as we can, but we want to build the whole community.”
i3 Broadband wants to talk to SouthCoast communities
Aside from Acushnet, Elam said the company is looking to enter other SouthCoast communities as well.
“We’ve already done a walk-out and are pretty much ready to go in Somerset. Swansea will be next,” Elam said, noting intentions to make contact with New Bedford, Dartmouth and Fairhaven as well. “If there’s a city in the area that does not already have another fiber provider building there, we would love to talk to them and see if they’re open to having competition in their community.”
Let i3 Broadband know you’re interested
To indicate interest in i3 Broadband service, visit www.i3broadband.com and enter your address in the field available on the main page.