advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

SA ISP offers an uncapped ADSL package that’s actually pretty good for gamers

Local internet service provider (ISP) OpenWeb has just launched an ADSL package aimed squarely at gamers called Home Uncapped Plus.

And that’s not just a marketing pitch, the claim is surprisingly appropriate: Home Uncapped Plus offers accounts with quite a few gamer-specific benefits, like low contention ratios, entirely unshaped traffic between midnight and 7am and prioritised streaming and gaming traffic between 7pm and 7am daily.

Having a low contention ratio means as a subscriber you won’t be sharing network nodes with tons of other people, something that has been known to dramatically slow down internet speeds when everyone is using the internet at the same time. Think of it as being given access to a road that only a few people use, as opposed to one that everyone is driving on – naturally you’ll get where you’re going far quicker on the less-congested route. In principle, that’s exactly what a low contention rate means to internet use.

OpenWeb’s Home Uncapped Plus page also says that subscribers get guaranteed unshaped downloads between midnight and 7am every day. Generally speaking, shaping takes place when a network is very busy and it’s done so that the really important traffic, like that specific to business, doesn’t slow to a crawl. OpenWeb’s guarantee says that downloads will be unshaped during those hours no matter how busy the network is, which is nice.

By prioritising streaming and gaming traffic during the hours when the most gaming takes place, OpenWeb is appealing to the majority of gamers who rely on low ping times to their favourite servers, as well as those who enjoy streaming their gaming sessions to services like Twitch, an increasingly-popular pastime thanks to Sony’s inclusion of the option in the PlayStation 4. Should your aspirations include being the next PewDiePie, or you’re frustrated with poor streaming performance on your current connection, this should appeal to you.

The price for Home Uncapped Plus varies by connection speed, starting at R249 for an uncapped 2mbps account, going up to R1 199 for a 20mbps account.

Alternatively, if this “prioritisation only at certain times” approach isn’t quite good enough for your needs, OpenWeb also offers Home Uncapped Premium, a more costly service that offers uncapped, unshaped data 24/7. It, however, starts at R399 for a 2mbps account, going all the way up to R2 999 for a 40mbps VDSL account.

Still, it’s good to have options, and even better to see an ISP actively courting gamers with features that appeal directly to their needs at prices that don’t blow the budget.

If you’re a gamer, does Home Uncapped Plus pique your interest? Let us know.

[Source – OpenWeb]

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

advertisement