Good stuff on the horizon for wireless internet gamers

So just when you thought that wireless internet would never cater for gamers - here comes LTE!

I've been fortunate enough to spend some time on the launch phase of an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, and good-golly-miss-molly, does it promise some big things for gamers and normal internet users alike.

Picture this:

up to 70mb/s download speeds
up to 20mb/s upload speeds

Stream 1080p youtube videos without EVER having to wait for the cache to build up.

And here comes the best part:

On testing a Counter Strike Source map on local server here in SA, I had a latency of 5ms. On a recent DotA match, we had a latency of 17! The latency was constant and 100% stable.

I don't know what Telkom is doing, but when LTE technology becomes available in a more widespread manner, I cannot see the need for a fixed landline solution ever again - so unless they improve upon their ADSL service drastically (and we all know that won't happen) they're going to lose a LOT of customers - and that definitely includes me.

So gamers, don't give up on wireless data just yet. There's a whole new world of wireless technology right around the corner, and as an avid gaming enthusiast, I can vouch for it and say that it will be worth the wait!

I don't think the MyBroadband article on the recent LTE network demo was clear enough about how epic this is going to be. But take my word for it, this technology and the speeds it offers changes the way in which you view the web.

Ooh, now that sounds like the kind of first-world internet we never thought we'd get in SA. Any word on who's implementing it and when it might happen?

I just hope that I will have coverage, and the cost won't be ridiculously high.

Do you have a link to the MyBB article? I haven't seen it

So what's the current cost for LTE and what kind of cap size are you looking at?

That's usually the big deciding factor. I mean its great having such speeds and all but if it's double the price of my current uncapped offering and only a few gigs per month then it's still far from replacing ADSL any time soon

How does the LTE work? I'm very interested! Telkom refuses to give me a land line because of cable theft. Then again, I'd want to have an uncapped account with speeds like that. You would spend your cap in mere seconds without realising it if you were capped at say 10GB :/ Please give as many details as you can on how it will work and who will provide it and at what costs?

If Vodacom is one of those offering it then you can be sure it'll cost a fortune.

Pricing, data plans and coverage, all things I would consider more important than pure performance.

No point having a super fast wireless technology which costs you more than your car and can only use for 5mins per month because you're still sitting on a 500mb data cap. Even when it comes to actual performance I always have doubts about wireless considering most of the time you're lucky if you get even 10% of the advertised speeds for HSDPA.

Sounds promising! Would love to get some more details of this...

I'm currently using my cellc whoosh dongle for gaming, and I must admit it's not bad at all! I get about 50-70 ping on blops!

But I'm sure this will top it by miles!!!

Hi guys

I'm not at liberty to give out any more information on this. Sadly :(

As for pricing and other costs - that still needs to be decided, but I'm of the opinion that it will be very competitive. All that I'm saying at the moment is that the technology itself IS out there and it's already here in South Africa. So it's not some sort of "far off dream". If you've been waiting for these kind of data speeds and performance, then this info should give you a reason to keep on waiting.

Here's a link to the MyBB article:
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadb...e-details.html

Consider this as a bit of "inside info". LTE is awesome and you're going to love it.

Ah, thanks Neo, so MTN then.

I'm in the coverage area :D

2-3 years :cry:

And now for a solid dose of reality: :o

This is a _pilot_ project. Meaning a smallish number of people hooked up to a massive fiber pipe via a fairly clean frequency spectrum.

Once they start loading actual customers on there both speeds and latency take a nose dive, so enjoy while it lasts. Sorry.:(

While wireless has its uses, I don't see anything replacing a good old wired connection in the foreseeable future. Crossing fingers though that "wired" = FTTH soon. :cool: