Tidewater Fiber Network Expansion

With support from the Town of Union, Tidewater Telecom has received a major grant to expand its current fiber optic network in the Town to reach an additional nearly 400 addresses, mostly in relatively rural areas of the Town. This will result in fiber access for more than 60 percent of all the addresses in Union. The roads and addresses with fiber access are listed here.

Tidewater’s work on the grant is well underway. Almost all of the new fiber has been mounted on the utility poles, and connections are being made.

To determine whether the new fiber service is available at your address, and to request a connection, visit the Tidewater website at www.tidewater.net, select the pink box (“South Bristol, Union, and New Castle Residents”), and fill out the form online. You can also call Tidewater at 844.763.9900.

Tidewater will get back to you quickly with a verification of service availability at your address, and to schedule a site inspection to determine how to run fiber from the nearest utility pole to your house (an aerial run, or buried conduit), and how to connect the fiber to your in-home WiFi network. They will also determine the connection cost (typically $100, with special provisions for addresses covered by the grant), and service and pricing options.

If you select the option of connecting the fiber from the utility pole to your house by buried conduit in place of an aerial run, Tidewater will require you to provide the conduit with a pull-string in it before they come out to make the connection. If you need help finding a contractor to lay the conduit, please contact the Committee.

This is a major step forward toward fulfilling the Broadband Committee’s charter of working with local Internet service providers to bring high-speed Internet access to all of Union. The Committee will work closely with Tidewater throughout the project, to help ensure that the process proceeds smoothly for the citizens of Union.

Contact the Committee at bbcunion24@gmail.com  if you have any questions, or if you’d like to provide feedback on your experience with Tidewater.