RSSVerizon to Launch Free Gaming Service
By Ed Oswald | Published August 10, 2006, 12:00 PM
Verizon plans to use the allure of a free gaming service as a method to draw more subscribers to its fiber-optic Internet service FiOS, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Called PlayLinc, the service would allow up to 32 gamers to talk to one another via voice or AOL Instant Messenger, as well as create private servers for invite-only games.
The telecommunications company previously acquired a stake in Super Computer International, which created the PlayLinc service. Verizon says moves like this are intended to help the company find new ways to generate revenue, as its traditional landline phone business continues to struggle.
In its most recent quarter, the company reported a 7.4 percent decrease in the number of landline phone customers over last year. The decline can largely be blamed on customers opting to use their cellular phone as their primary phone.
Gamers prefer faster Internet connections, as the "lag," or the delay between a requested action and its execution in a online game, is significantly less on faster connections. This gives the player an advantage, they say. Verizon believes serious gamers will find the speed boost in FiOS a good reason to subscribe to the service, which is competing with cable and DSL.
Verizon recently sponsored a tournament using PlayLinc as a test of the service. Results were positive, with praise for the private server feature.
I lived in NYC, and I know we will be the last one to get Verizon FIOS. There is just no incentive for Verizon to put FIOS in NYC. They have no competition. They are the sole DSL provider. TWX has their cable monopoly.
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|Yes, but Verizon FIOS is aimed at competing with cable companies. Most DSL and Cable companies now have monopolies in their respective geographical locations and will now be competing only with each other.
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|Thank God! (or Allah, or whoever). Competition is king. Bring it on.
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|Verizon has been laying fiber all through our neighborhood trying to get ready to (finally) roll this out. They hired immigrant labor to cut costs and avoid further schedule delays (they stated being 8 months behind). The result has been one safety infraction per day, and one power disruption per day since May of this year. The state (Va) has levied fines against them heavily, so I hope this doesn't end up being the electronic version of Boston's "Big Dig" for us. We have one broadband provider right now, Cox Comm. (cable). That's it. 100% monopoly. I'm hoping Verizon can clean things up and put the fear of God into real competition. We need it. The costs for cable have been going up steadily for years. I'm so tired of that crap!
Here's a link to an interesting FiOS blog posting... http://blog.moertel.com/...et-service-a-first-look
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|I hear ya. They haven't come anywhere near our area yet. I hope to God they do soon. Cable's so damned expensive around here and DSL is ... barely satisfatctory.
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|It's not the speed of the connection, it's the latency.
For instance:
Cable tends to have lower latencies than DSL, even when the speeds are the same (or even when DSL is faster).
Depends on what the latencies are like on a FiOS. I'd guess they'd be better. Anyone know for sure?
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|It should be about comparable (slightly better) to the best of cable (10-20ms). The only major difference is that you won't have problems such as random spikes if people in your neighborhood are heavy p2p users. DSL and cable are actually the same if you can get "fast path" (remove interleaving for good lines). The speed does matter somewhat, at least with upload. With higher upload you will be able to do more without congesting your bandwidth in a multi-user network.
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|Not what I wanted to hear. :/
Gonna be a while before we see it here. Was hoping I'd get a reason to *not* look forward to it quite so much.
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|I've had Verizon Fios for about 4 months now and I must say it is the best performing service I have had. I switched from Comcast to Fios and have experienced major improvement in latency and speed. Comcast was 6-down/256kb-up; Verizon 15-down/2-up. Recently received free ugrade to 20-down/5-up. It is consistently fast even at peak hours. Large files download fast and speed generally doesnt degrade over time (also depends on server-side). Latency for gaming went from 90-120ms to about 30-50ms. Fios is sweeet.
Only downside is the equipment they need to install. Which is typically at the tap in your garage. Need about 18"x24" clear space for network box and ups back-up. Also note that they rip out your copper line in its entirety from the pole to your house, interior wiring is not effected. Also not sure how they plan to get Fios to people in apartment complexes.
If its available in your area, definately reccomend it. Plus in New Jersey, they approved TV service for resale by Verizon. Which means better pricing. Looks like it will be available sometime in November.
Cheers!
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|Now you're just being mean. ;)
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|Now, telling you that I pay 45 dollars a month for that speed is being mean! =P
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|May you die in a horrifying collision with a gas tanker on the highway.
...jerk.
/sarcasm
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|are you adapting 34 year old potty trained gamers? I eat light for that speed. (food)
Honestly i am happy for ya. At least someone is getting a good deal and having fun.
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|The $45-ish I'm paying for Fios is relatively more reasonable than the $58 I paid for the slower (speed & latency) of Comcast cable. Of course people in other parts of the world are getting 100k for much cheaper:(
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