Pro gamer and social media superstar Ashley Mariee is today calling on her millions of fans, and gamers across the UK to help Fix Britain’s Internet.
The global, online gaming market has trebled since 2005* with players like Pew Die Pie and Ashley Mariee becoming some of the biggest stars on the Internet as a result.
As every gamer will vouch for, fast, reliable Internet is paramount to online gaming. The reality, however, is 60% of Brits say they’ve been let down by their broadband in the last month and 1 in 4 UK adults are unhappy with their Internet service.**
Thousands of gamers currently live in areas that can’t even support the online gameplay features of popular titles and many more search in vain for better broadband speeds to improve their online gaming experience.
“It’s an online gamer’s worst nightmare when you experience lag spikes or the game freezing while playing. It’s so frustrating, your character is completely vulnerable and you end up dropping down leader boards or missing out on high scores.
“The campaign to Fix Britain’s Internet is our chance to push for a level playing field so every gamer, no matter which town they are living, can have fast and reliable broadband at their fingertips. Then we will really see who the best is.” Ashley Mariee
Ashely Mariee’s calls for gamers to unite in their demands for better, more reliable, Internet, is supported by James Hogg and Dan Kerr. Both are keen gamers from York who after having experienced slow and unresponsive broadband and the impact this had on their gaming experienced, signed up to TalkTalk’s fibre optic broadband network in the city broadband can have on the gaming experience
“If everyone had the same speed you wouldn’t have to watch other people lag whilst playing games. You would have better gameplay with everyone.” – James Hogg, Gamer, York.
Talking specifically about the multiplayer games he enjoys playing and the impact a poor connection can have Dan Kerr explains that there is “a notable slowdown” because of which there is often is “no point in playing a game that is laggy or slow because of poor broadband”.
Top 5 gamer gripes about slow and unreliable Internet:
- Different players on different speeds making it not a level playing field
- A high ping caused by slow Internet speed ruining the gameplay experience
- Lag spikes impacting in-game crucial moments and affecting leaderboard standings
- Failure to experience the game’s full graphics
- Slower reaction speeds and lack of precision when playing first-person shooters
Fix Britain’s Internet
Thankfully, help is at hand for frustrated online gamers as for the first time in ten years, Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, is giving the public the opportunity to have their say on the future of the UK’s internet.
In recognition that Openreach, the UK’s national internet network, is in need of radical change, the campaign to Fix Britain’s Internet is urging gamers who want better broadband to email Ofcom and have their say by visiting: www.fixbritainsinternet.co.uk before October 4th.
What could a new and improved Openreach structure mean for gamers?
Sky and TalkTalk’s Ultra Fibre Optic Broadband joint venture in York currently offers some of the fastest and most reliable speeds in the UK – around 1Gb – which is 100 times faster than standard broadband speeds. With Ultra Fibre Optic Broadband, people can experience download speeds of up to 940Mb, or in simpler terms, a HD movie downloaded in less than 30 seconds.
Sky and TalkTalk’s Ultra Fibre Optic Broadband network is completely independent from Openreach and provides the speeds gamers could enjoy. BT’s lack of major investment in Openreach, the national Internet network, means currently only 2% of the UK has access to ultrafast pure fibre broadband***.
Ashley Mariee will be testing out Ultra Fibre Optic Broadband in York, live streaming her gameplay on Twitch to demonstrate how access to ultra-fast broadband enhances gaming, encouraging her fellow gamers to join her in supporting the Fix Britain’s Internet campaign.
