MWEB suggests that consumers consider all aspects of a product offering when evaluating their options to make sure they understand what they are signing up for. This is especially true where usability and speeds are concerned – primary concerns for online gamers.
“The reality is that most ISPs throttle their uncapped subscribers, and have restrictions in place on the amount of data consumers are downloading and the speed at which they are downloading it,” said Rihana Hoosain, Head of Products at MWEB Connect.
MWEB explained that they don’t throttle but rather shape their network, which means that the ISP manages the network and allows certain traffic like browsing the Internet, online gaming, YouTube, e-mail, and VoIP to take preference.
“With the demand for fast uncapped internet increasing; we are finding more people online exploring and experiencing rich media content, live streaming broadcasts and downloading their favourite content. The demand for bandwidth has increased alongside this growth and many ISPs are facing ever increasing strain on their network infrastructure. They simply can’t keep up with the demand and are forced to throttle a user’s connection during peak periods on the network. By reducing the speed of those subscribers who are using the most bandwidth, they are able to relieve some strain on the network, but at the customer’s expense,” explained Hoosain.
MWEB said they have made substantial investments in IPC capacity to ensure that users are able to experience the best that the Internet has to offer, which is why many users with high bandwidth requirements, such as online gamers, have signed with the ISP.
“Consumers should certainly shop around for the best ADSL deals but they need to be aware of the factors that can affect Internet speeds and ask potential ISPs to provide them with all the information and terms and conditions prior to signing up with them,” concluded Hoosain.
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