Ghost Gamer Broadband launches in the UK

[HEXUS]

"For Gamers, By Gamers" packages promise "uninterrupted, responsive gameplay".

Read more.

[Ttaskmaster]

"For Gamers, By Gamers" (Razer might be interested in this strapline).

My thoughts exactly, and one reason I'll not be spending my spondoolicks on their marketing hype... the other being the 900Mbps I'll eventually end up with once the supplier actually turns the flippin' fibre cabinet on!

[Zak33]

the guys at ISP Review do a good job of pointing out the errors already

"Sadly the website itself doesn’t offer a lot of detail on their packages or prices, although they seem to be promoting “up to” speeds instead of the required “average speeds“. One other problem we noticed is that their website promotes service prices that exclude the £10 monthly cost of line rental (you only see this when running through their order system), which is something the ASA requires to be made clear." - ISP Review

So... a quick look

"We can’t prevent every fault, but we do want you to stay focused on winning. When it comes to your broadband, we promise to have your back – every step of the way.

and that means....what exactly?

ref Interleaving

If you notice this happening on our network, it will almost certainly be the result of interleaving. Interleaving is an error-correction algorithm. If you have a long or noisy phone line, interleaving will help to improve the stability of your connection.

Interleaving is very helpful for maintaining your experience when browsing the web or streaming video. However it does add to latency: typically 8–9 milliseconds.

Interleaving can’t be switched off for FTTC lines but you can ask for it to be switched off on ADSL services. We can review your options to ensure you receive the best possible performance."

useful...so you're gonna tell Jo Blow from Dunmow "I'd suggest forget FTTC going ADSL"

look forward to that outcome.

[Firejack]

Yeah I won't be signing up. Their website makes a load of clearly bogus claims for "Competitor Average", then slaps "Gamer" all over the website and adds on a gamer-tax to the price like we've see on "gaming" hardware in recent years.

[LSG501]

I'm using zen 80/20 fibre (so basically the above £43.99 package) at £35(and 40p iirc). I'm still on BT line rental so the line rental cost doesn't make a difference.

I have the below for that little list shown on the bottom picture.
steam - 10ms ttl = 55
playstation - 11ms ttl = 54
xbox - 12ms ttl = 55
google - the IP timed out so no idea how they got theirs but google.co.uk is 10ms ttl = 54
bbc - 10ms ttl = 56

Now considering I'm in a little village in Norfolk (location affects ping as we all know), on a wifi connection and the temperatures aren't exactly cool (cable expansion slows pings etc a bit due to 'stretch') I'd say that you're basically just getting what you 'should' be getting from a decent ISP....but paying more for it than say Zen (and many others I would guess)

[flearider]

hmm I get 13-18ms atm with 64meg download and 18 up for £27.50
why would I want to up my cost

[spacein_vader]

So is this a parody or a scam? Or both.

[Zak33]

As soon as your broadband order has been accepted and ongoing payment has been processed we’ll confirm your activation date. If you are switching your service from another provider it will take approximately 2 weeks.

If transferring a phone line as well, this will take an additional 15 days after your Ghost Gamer Broadband is activated so you get to enjoy the results before we complete the entire process!

So no 'phone for 2 weeks after the 2 weeks to set up broadband. Sounds fair.....

[Zak33]

So is this a parody or a scam? Or both.

its all too real chap.

[stevo125]

"Last but not least, it seems like the headlining pricing doesn't include line rental - an extra £10pcm."
I thought ASA had banned this practice a year or more ago?

[EvilCycle]

I think they picked a good name as I can't see them being around long. New company wants a piece of the broadband pie, knows it's going to struggle to provide competitive prices so slaps on "gamer" all over it to try the same tactics as hardware vendors. Looks good on paper but I would be very surprised if even the slightly silly fall for this one.

[Zak33]

"Last but not least, it seems like the headlining pricing doesn't include line rental - an extra £10pcm."
I thought ASA had banned this practice a year or more ago?

yup.....100%

[adidan]

I think the fines they will face will stop them before they start

[philehidiot]

So I'm guessing the graph is "this is our best possible performance compared to real world, average performance".

It's surely still using the BT infrastructure so the limitations are going to be the same with regards to ping. Throttling / traffic shaping can be controlled to some degree but doesn't BT do this out of their control as well?

[Corky34]

40ms for the competitor? Did they use satellite broadband or something.

[Tunnah]

Eh, another idiot tax, this one aimed at people who think RGB are the same as go-faster stripes.