While many console owners argue that the Xbox 360 features better online gaming, one clear advantage that the PlayStation Network (PSN) has one clear advantage over Xbox Live in South Africa (apart from official certification), is that PS3 owners can download content using cheap local bandwidth thanks to a locally hosted mirror.
This is something that many PS3 owners do not know about, but it is a feature that makes downloading demos and full games an inexpensive practice.
On average, regular international bandwidth costs between R50-R60 per GB. In comparison, local only bandwidth costs around R10 per GB. While a 1.5GB game will cost in the region of R100 using regular DSL broadband, the same download would cost as little as R20 using local bandwidth.
It is important to note that downloading from PSN using local only bandwidth is only possible over an ADSL line. Anyone with a functioning ADSL line can purchase local bandwidth and use it to download from the PlayStation store.
It is not possible to use local bandwidth to download system or game updates as these are not downloaded from the Playstation store.
Buying local bandwidth
Most ISP’s sell local only bandwidth. Axxess for example sells pay-as-you go local bandwidth for R12 per GB. The easiest was is to buy the bandwidth from your current service provider, as they will have your details on record and should be able to give you login details for a local account immediately without you having to provide ID and credit card details.
Once you have made the purchase, write your new local username and password down somewhere safe.
Starting the download
Because the entire PSN is not hosted locally, you will not be able to get into the PSN store using local only bandwidth. Using your regular international broadband account, go into the PSN store. If you do not already have an account, then follow the on screen prompts to create one.
A good idea to start with something free from the PlayStation Store to test your connection before parting with any cash. For our walk-through, we chose the Lost Planet 2 demo which requires a fairly modest 492MB, as well as the Uncharted 2 demo which requires 1272MB.
When you find something you would like to download, select ‘Download’, and then select ‘Download in the Background’. You can queue up a number of downloads by following this procedure.
When you are satisfied with your selection you may exit the PSN store. Your downloads will be running in the background, and will be using your international cap.
Switching to local
Once out of the PlayStation Store, scroll over to the ‘Network’ tab. Scroll down and select ‘download manager’. From here you can view your current downloads. Using the triangle button on the PS3 controller, you can view the status of the download, cancel the download or pause the download. At this point you should pause all your current downloads.
Once your downloads are paused, you need to get onto a PC that is connected to you ADSL router.
Open your web-browser and type the router’s IP address into it, this should be 192.168.1.1, or 10.0.0.2 for Telkom routers. You will most likely be prompted for your router’s username and password, these will probably be set to the default which is ‘admin’ for both username and password.
Once you are into your router settings, you will need to find the setup screen which allows you to enter your ISP details. This will most likely be under something along the lines of ‘Advanced setup’. Once you have found the field in your router which requires your ISP details, you can enter your newly acquired local account details. Make sure to record the username that you are replacing, and also make sure that you know your password for this account.
Once you have entered your local details, you can save them. This will probably require you to save and reboot your router. When your router comes back on and reconnects to your PC and PS3, you will no longer have access to any international websites.
At this point, you may return to your PS3. Go back into the download manager, and in the same way that you paused your downloads earlier, restart them. Your downloads should now resume using local bandwidth.
It is always a good idea to queue up a few downloads and leave them going overnight. This will avoid the inconvenience of being stuck without international browsing capabilities during the day. Once your downloads are done, you may reenter your regular ISP account details.
If you have any questions or problems with the process, contact us in the MyGaming forums.
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