Gamers ping Telecom for data disruptions

By PETER GRIFFIN

Online gamers using Telecom's entry-level Jetstream Starter connection are venting about a hardware upgrade that is threatening to end happy days of simultaneous web surfing or file downloading during game play.

As part of its move to a "next generation network" Telecom is replacing its mix of largely Nokia branded routers with equipment from Juniper Networks.

The new routers more effectively handle internet traffic by queueing packets of data that cannot be sent through in one go due to the limited size of the internet connection at the receiver's end.

But online gamers are now experiencing major delays.

Although Telecom's internet provider, Xtra, claims the change means better connection performance for web surfers and downloaders, those sharing their internet connection across multiple PCs and online gamers in particular may experience degraded performance.

Gamers have talked of slower "ping" speeds - the measure in milliseconds it takes to send a packet of data to the gaming server and back. Quick ping speeds are an indicator of smooth game play.

Some talk on internet message boards of being unable to browse the web while playing games.

"We can't play games with two PCs or else the ping for both machines goes up to around 150+ [milliseconds] and will spike all the way to 9999 making the game unplayable," wrote one gamer on the Gameplanet forum.

Xtra's head of internet and online marketing, Chris Thompson, said the 128kbps (kilobit per second) Jetstream Starter connection was stretched providing bandwidth for games as well as feeding other computers.

"For people playing a game on a rated connection, where there are other things contesting use of bandwidth, their gaming packets or pings can get queued."

He pointed to the soon-to-be-launched Xbox Live service from Microsoft which recommends a minimum 256kbps connection.

But the move is seen as a "ploy" by Telecom to bump users up to higher-speed and more expensive plans.

"They have purposely made it impossible to share a connection on Jetstart to force us into paying for a 256[kbps] connection," wrote another gamer.

Nearly 75 per cent of Telecom's residential broadband customers are understood to be on the relatively low-speed Jetstream Starter connection. Telecom now has the task of moving them to higher-speed plans if it is to reach its aim of 100,000 residential broadband customers by the end of next year.

Thompson said those on Jetstream Starter connections could connect through the Jetstream Gaming Realm, which uses different servers.

Gamers would not be penalised for their data traffic.



Otherwise, users would simply have to curtail their internet activity while gaming.

Meanwhile, Telecom would seek to "optimise" its new hardware to ensure better performance for gamers.

The impact of the upgrade on gamers has been gradual as equipment servicing parts of the country comes online in a staggered installation.