Edison Council Rejects 50-Year Fiber Deal After Learning Company Serves Data Centers
Four council members voted no on a right-of-way agreement after the township's own attorney described the company as a provider of high-speed connectivity for stock exchanges, AI data centers, and large enterprises.
Optical fiber cables. (Source)
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Chris Howell | June 26, 2026
The Edison Township Council voted 4-2 Wednesday night to reject a 50-year agreement that would have allowed a New York fiber optic company to run infrastructure through the township’s public streets. The council’s own attorney revealed the company’s primary customers are AI data centers, financial exchanges, and large commercial enterprises.
The vote came on the second and final reading of an ordinance that would have granted Pilot Fiber NJ LLC a non-exclusive right-of-way to install, operate, and maintain fiber optic cables on Edison’s public poles and other infrastructure. The ordinance described the purpose in broad terms: “for purposes of providing telecommunications services.”
What it did not say was who those services were for.
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The answer came on Wednesday from the township attorney, who was asked to clarify the company’s business model during the public comment period.
Pilot Fiber, he explained, is a competitive local exchange carrier, a specialized category of telecom provider under federal law. Unlike Comcast or Optimum, which serve homes and small businesses, Pilot Fiber provides high-capacity fiber connectivity to a specific set of commercial customers.
“It is essentially a data transfer company,” the attorney said. “They provide connectivity for stock exchanges, AI data centers, and enterprise businesses — those large businesses that have thousands of employees and multiple departments.”
He went further. “If it’s an AI data center that needs to be connected through Edison,” he said, “they would have the ability to do that.”
That description settled the vote for four council members.
Councilmember Richard Brescher said he had already researched the company before the meeting and reached the same conclusion.
“They’re pulling cable so that we get to a new world with AI and data centers,” Brescher said. He described himself as opposed to both on economic grounds. “I know many people in the IT world that have been laid off. Anybody can read the papers. There’s another 8,500 jobs being lost in New Jersey alone because of AI. I don’t want to be part of helping facilitate that growth, whether it be approving data centers or approving fiber being pulled.”
Councilmember Ajay Patil said municipalities across New Jersey are moving to ban data centers outright, and he intends to bring a resolution to Edison’s council soon. “This is the precursor,” Patil said. “Laying down” fiber for data centers is something he said he would not support. “If this is for residential, I’m fine. If it is a T1 line, I’m fine. But if it is for data centers, I’m absolutely not.”
Council Vice President Robert Kentos and Councilmember Biral Patel voted no without extended comment. Councilmember Kelli Dima and Council President Joseph Coyle voted yes.
Coyle, in brief remarks after the vote, said he shared his colleagues’ concerns about data centers but viewed the BPU-approved ordinance as a procedural matter. “I do support my colleagues, and I definitely have an issue with data centers,” he said. “However, this is an issue through the BPU, and we will look at where that goes next time.”
The ordinance’s language gave little indication of what the township was actually being asked to approve. It authorized Pilot Fiber to “locate, place, attach, install, operate, and maintain facilities within municipal Rights-of-Way for purposes of providing telecommunications services,” language broad enough to apply to any telecom provider, residential or commercial.
The company is registered as a New Jersey telecommunications provider under a Board of Public Utilities order issued in July 2025. Under state law, municipalities cannot impose franchise fees on BPU-authorized telecom companies and have limited ability to deny access to public rights-of-way outright.
That legal reality creates a tension the council left unresolved on Wednesday. By rejecting the ordinance, the council avoided granting the formal right-of-way agreement. But whether the BPU authorization gives Pilot Fiber an independent basis to access Edison’s streets is a question the township attorney did not address on the record.
The vote places Edison alongside a growing number of New Jersey municipalities pushing back against data center infrastructure. Municipalities in Middlesex, Burlington, Camden, and Union counties have imposed moratoriums or outright bans on data center development in recent months. Sayreville, a Middlesex County neighbor of Edison, introduced an 18-month moratorium earlier this year.
Edison already has at least one data center operating within its borders, operated by Iron Mountain.
Pilot Fiber’s expansion into New Jersey accelerated in February 2026 when the company announced it had agreed to acquire Extenet Systems in a deal that would expand its network into New Jersey data center corridors and strengthen its position in financial services markets.
The Central Jerseyan has filed an open records request with the Edison Township Clerk seeking all internal communications between the administration and Pilot Fiber.
Business Administrator Sonia Alves-Viveiros and Mayor Sam Joshi did not respond to a request for comment. Pilot Fiber said it looks forward to continuing conversations with the township.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.