As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, developers are postponing their daily activities and canceling live events. In response, several figures in the games industry are moving their activities online. Not only are developers beginning to work remotely, but live events like theCall of DutyLeague are also going online onlyto combat the outbreak. In the face of this growing pandemic, internet service providers appear to be rising to the occasion.
ISPs have largely been criticized for causing latency in online matches and creating data caps for the sake of profit. In one instance,Cox Communications offered an “Elite Gamer” service,which would supposedly speed up one’s Internet connection and make for a better online multiplayer experience. However, this perfectly illustrated concerns that Cox and other ISPs were intentionally throttling client connections in order to offer unfair premium services that would restore Internet speeds.
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But it seems that the current state of emergency has driven ISPs to action. AT&T announced that it would be suspending data caps and waiving any customer fees that might come from additional data use “until further notice.”
Comcast quickly followed suit with its own promise to boost Internet speeds by 10 Mbps for download speeds and by 1 Mbp for upload speeds. The ISP also set up a 60-day free trial of a broadband plan targeted at low-income households and opened access to its Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots to the general public for free. Comcast stated that its choice was in response to thegrowing need to “work from home[and] access educational resources.”
While the ISPs' decision to waive fees and offer free services is welcome in this dire atmosphere, one cannot help but question the ulterior motives behind this corporate charity. After all,Comcast has faced a lot of criticismand customer dissatisfaction in the past. Although these current measures are commendable, it raises the question of what the companies stand to gain for offering these services, and of why they cannot offer these necessary services regularly.
Ultimately, the coronavirus crisis is still showing no signs of slowing down. Hopefully, other ISPs will follow in AT&T and Comcast’s footsteps to offer better Internet services and allow people and players to be productive and find comfort inthe games they play and the content they watch.
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