New Fiber Network Planned Across Deerfield After Village Board Approval

DEERFIELD, IL — Another fiber-optic company is preparing for a major buildout in Deerfield, with plans to bring its network to most residential properties in the village.

The Deerfield Village Board on Tuesday approved a public right-of-way agreement with Ezee Fiber, a Texas-based telecommunications company that plans to install fiber infrastructure throughout Deerfield.

In the meeting's agenda packet, officials describe the project as a communitywide buildout of about 141 kilometers, or roughly 462,000 feet, of fiber routes serving residential and business areas.

Ezee Fiber is a Houston-based fiber internet provider that has expanded rapidly beyond Texas recently. The company now operates across six states, including Illinois, and in 2025 announced a $400 million investment in the Chicago area, initially targeting communities in Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane and Will counties. Ezee Fiber connected its first Illinois customers in Oak Brook and Streamwood in January and has since announced additional suburban expansion, including Elk Grove Village and Barrington.

During Tuesday's meeting, village officials said Ezee Fiber expects the network to reach about 95 percent of Deerfield's residential properties.

Al Roth, director of government affairs for Ezee Fiber told trustees the company intends to move ahead with the Deerfield project once it completes design and permitting work.

Asked whether the company was certain it would build in Deerfield, Roth said, "We're here. We're ready."

The company will first gather village and utility information for its mapping and engineering work before seeking permits, Roth said. A specific construction start date was not given.

The agreement allows Ezee Fiber to place telecommunications cables and related equipment both underground and above ground within village rights-of-way and on existing utility poles. The company is not proposing cable television service, according to village documents.

Village staff said private fiber companies have been expanding rapidly throughout the Chicago area as demand for high-speed internet grows. Deerfield previously approved a similar agreement with another private fiber company, and officials said at least one more company is currently considering a project in the village.

Lessons From AT&T Work

A significant portion of Tuesday's discussion focused not on the new internet service itself, but on how construction will affect residents.

Village officials acknowledged problems with ongoing AT&T fiber work in Deerfield.

Trustee Jennifer Goldstone described inadequate notification, workers entering yards and fences being left open, including incidents in which dogs got out.

A village staff member responded that Deerfield's experience with AT&T during approximately the past year and a half "has not gone well," adding that officials have taken lessons from those problems as they developed requirements for other companies.

The Ezee Fiber agreement includes requirements governing construction timing, resident notification, easement use and restoration. The village will also require the company to maintain a $100,000 bond throughout the buildout.

Roth said residents should receive a minimum of three notifications and potentially as many as six as work reaches their properties.

Those notices could include direct mail, door hangers, signs in parkways and other alerts. Residents would also receive notification when crews intend to work on their property, he said.

Roth said Ezee Fiber tracks complaints about restoration work and requires its contractors to return if the work does not meet a resident's expectations. The company then contacts the resident before closing out the restoration issue, he said.

Construction is expected to occur in stages, beginning with utility marking, followed by boring and installation of the physical lines, fiber work and finally restoration.

The village also plans to use an outside engineering consultant to review plans, monitor construction and help resolve problems. Ezee Fiber will reimburse Deerfield for those third-party costs, officials said.

The agreement itself is intended to give the village additional oversight over what officials described as a large, multiyear construction project. Staff said its provisions are generally as restrictive as, or more restrictive than, Deerfield's normal right-of-way requirements.

The board approved the Ezee Fiber agreement without opposition.