Local ISP MWEB has announced their new uncapped ADSL account offerings, and the implications for gamers are potential very significant.
They are not the first to launch such disruptive products, with Digichilli and Screamer coming to the party with super cheap uncapped offerings late last year. Unfortunately they have struggled to deliver in the quality of service department.
Becoming a Tier 1 service provider allows MWEB far greater control over their network, and given that they are a massive player in the ISP market, and they are promising good service levels and high quality browsing, we can expect something solid.
Pricing
MWEB Connect (month-to-month)
1. Uncapped ADSL 384kbps: R219
2. Uncapped ADSL 512kbps: R299
3. Uncapped ADSL 4096kbps: R539
All inclusive (DSL line included)
1. Uncapped All-inclusive 384kbps: R349
2. Uncapped All-inclusive 512kbps: R599
3. Uncapped All-inclusive 4096kbps: R899
What this means for gamers
Well firstly, everything depends on whether MWEB can deliver decent latencies, and full line speeds on these products. If so, then the implications for gamers are significant.
Bandwith free gaming services become redundant
Uncapped ADSL for R349 – line inclusive – per month covers the entry level market, while most current high end users with 4Mb lines will be happy to spend R899 for uncapped. This means that MWEB essentially has the gaming market covered. While Web Africa and iBurst now offer uncapped gaming on their servers, the prospect of uncapped everything trumps them, as gamers can play on any servers as much as they want, without worrying about data usage.
Modern Warfare 2 and MMOs
This will also benefit Modern Warfare 2 and MMO players, who currently have no localised bandwidth free solution. Modern Warfare 2 in particular is known to consume copious amounts of the host’s bandwidth.
Uncapped unlocks Steam
Steam is an online digital game store which offers excellent specials on a regular basis. Not many local gamers are able to use Steam the way it was intended due to the high price of bandwidth in SA.
While Web Africa is currently putting the finishing touches on its Steam mirror, the prospect of uncapped internet, again, trumps their efforts, as instead of having to tweak Steam to access the local mirror, or worry about new content not being uploaded to the local mirror, they can simply access Steam international, bypassing the limitations of a local mirror.
Console gamers can take advantage
While there have been a number of recent initiatives for local PC gamers, such as bandwidth free servers, and the aforementioned Steam mirror, these have not benefited console gamers. Using one of these accounts to access Xbox Live and PSN, console gamers will have unlimited access to the various downloads, as well as unlimited online gaming.
Update
MWEB has confirmed that while certain ports will be optimised for browsing and emailing during peaks hours, after hours usage will be completely unshapedafter hours.
Proof and pudding
While we have insider reports that the uncapped service was tested internally, and was found to deliver solid latencies in local and international gaming, it remains to be seen how they will hold up to the inevitable influx of high level bandwidth users.
We will be testing one of these accounts in all gaming related applications over the next few weeks. Watch this space.
Discuss MWEB’s uncapped service in the forums
