Lumos Fiber proposes 36-month villagewide fiber build; board gives staff-level approval to proceed

Lumos Fiber presented a master license agreement to the Village Board of Roselle on Jan. 27, proposing construction of a fiber-optic backbone to serve residents and small and medium businesses.

Alan Roth, director of market development for Lumos Fiber, told the board: "Our goal here is to come into the community and build a new fiber optic network for the residents and small and medium businesses throughout the community." He said Lumos would self-fund the project and was not seeking village funding.

Roth said the company plans to "overbuild the entire city" and estimated the buildout would take about 36 months. He described the deployment as a main trunk that would branch out, and said once fiber is placed on a street, residents typically can obtain service within about 60 days.

Chris Miele, the village’s director of development and engineering services, told trustees the master license agreement functions similarly to ones Roselle has executed with other providers and that subsequent construction work would be approved at a staff level through standard utility permits.

Trustees asked about coordination with street‑paving and whether fiber construction would tear up recently paved roads. Lumos representatives said much of the deployment would be underground and in parkways or public-utility easements, and the company would coordinate with Public Works to avoid conflicts. Roth added that some installations use small bore drilling to cross obstructions without full trenching.

The board indicated consensus (six in favor) to authorize staff to continue permitting and coordination under the master license framework; no funding or final construction contract was approved at the meeting.

Next steps listed on the record included negotiating final license terms, coordinating routes with Public Works and scheduling construction work to avoid planned pavement projects.