Plans are currently underway to deliver the next era of blazing high speed Internet to a number of Dowagiac households.

Area Internet service provider ACD is looking to upgrade Dowagiac’s existing underground fiber optic cable network to allow residential and small businesses to connect to the company’s gigabit Internet service. Dowagiac is just one of several Michigan communities that would benefit from this upcoming phase of development, along with those in Hillsdale, Haslett, Eaton Rapids and parts of Lansing, said ACD CEO Kevin Schoen.

The company, based out of Lansing, currently provides residential gigabit Internet service to parts of Lansing, with customers experiencing download and upload speeds around 1,000 megabits per second, 15 to 100 times faster than DSL or cable services, Schoen said.

“For example, if you use Netflix, when you click on a video it’s there and loaded in a second — there’s no waiting,” Schoen said.

The company is just one of several ISPs across the country using fiber optic networks to provide this high-speed service to home customers, including Verizon and Google.

“The service we’re providing is very similar to that in terms of speeds and capability,” Schoen said.

ACD has been managing and improving the Dowagiac fiber network, which was installed in 2005 by the city and Dowagiac Union Schools district, since 2013. The company has already hooked up several local businesses and organizations to their gigabit network, including city hall, Schoen said.

Common network tasks such as web browsing and file transfers are sped up substantially through gigabit internet, the CEO said.

“It really makes home businesses more effective and efficient as well,” he said.

The ISP is currently working on engineering work on the expansion, and is looking to begin construction on the expansion by fall. Residential service could begin as soon early spring, Schoen said.

People interested in having potential gigabit service to their home can register that address at http://ACD.net