It’s going to be a while before South Hadley residents will see the service, but plans are in place.

The five member South Hadley Electric Light Board approved a launch of an all-fiber residential internet service last week.

Fiber internet service is a type of internet connection that incorporates the use of fiber optic lines, which are faster and considered more reliable. Plans are already in place to bring the service to the town but it will be a multi-year process.

Sean Fitzgerald “South Hadley already had fiber rings in it to provide service to municipal accounts and we offer fiber to the schools,” South Hadley Electric Light Department’s General Manager Sean Fitzgerald told 22News. “So we are leveraging the existing system.”

Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and should take four to five years before residents will be able to receive fiber internet service.

The South Hadley Electric Light Department told 22News that residents should be patient but that plans are already in the works.