Demon launches broadband service for serious gamers

Demon has launched a broadband service specifically aimed at gamers.

The Demon Game Pro from the internet service provider, a brand of Thus Ltd, said the service would prioritise gaming traffic and so be ideal for serious gamers.

The service will offer speeds of up to 20Mbits/sec downstream and 1Mbits/sec upstream, low latency, a free wireless router and a free static IP address. This is crucial to maintaining consistent uptime during gaming as well as providing an option for users to host their own game servers.

The service will also be supported by a 24-hour, UK based in-house technical support team, many of whom Demon said “are avid gamers themselves”.

Matt Cantwell, Head of Demon, commented: “We know how important a good broadband connection is to the gaming community, and we are excited to be launching this product which has been designed to meet the specific needs of gamers.

“At Demon we appreciate that a better connection allows better gaming, and are confident that gamers will see the benefits that this service offers them."

We asked Demon what its policy was if after a customer has signed up they find that they don’t get near the speeds they expect. Carl Warner at Demon told us the company was aware of potential technical problems so people could initially choose a shorter contract.

“In a change to our other products we will be offering customers the opportunity to sign up for a three month contract on our Game Pro product, so if they find for whatever reasons they’re not able to achieve high speeds, they’re not tied in for a full year or even longer.

“We always strive to ensure customers receive the best speeds possible, and whilst this service is offering up to 20Mb downstream speeds this can be affected by a number of factors including the distance to the exchange, the quality of the phone lines, the number of people using the service at the same time, or the speed of the website you are accessing.

“However, we are confident that our new gaming customers will see an improvement over an average residential product as the key factors for them will be the lower latency and better ping rates, as well as speed,” he said.

However the three-month contract will cost slightly more. The initial launch price will be £23.99 per month with a £29.99 connection fee rising to £25.99 after that. The 12-month option initial launch price is £21.99 per month for the first three months, rising to £23.99 per month after.

The launch price offer will be available until 31 October 2010.