DS2 BPL chipset beats the WiFi bottleneck for online gamers

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 01:58

Business IT - Technology

Broadband over powerline chip maker DS2 claims that its broadband over powerline chipset is the only one with sufficiently low latency and sufficient throughput to enable online gamers to interact in real time with others over their broadband networks.

DS2 says its chipset is fully compatible with Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3 and "guarantees 'zero latency', ensuring that all online gamers can participate in high definition virtual-reality role-playing games without any instances of time delay or dropped lines inherent in WiFi." (However they will still be subject to latency in their broadband access and the Internet in general).

"As online gaming and other high-definition applications are becoming more mainstream, consumers require fast, reliable broadband access in every room in the home without the inconvenience of latency," said Victor Dominguez, director of strategy & standardisation at DS2. "Our technology extends high-performance Internet connections to any room in the home, making it possible for consumers to enjoy high-quality, high-definition online gaming and other bandwidth-hungry applications without interruption."

The chipset provides throughput of up to 200Mbps and is incorporated into broadband over powerline products from a range of manufacturers including Allnet, Corinex Communications, Comtrend Corporation, Conceptronic, D-Link, Defidev, Ilevo, Logitec, Netgear, Pirelli Broadband Solutions, Toyo Network Systems and Xavi.

Two global BPL industry groups, the Universal Powerline Association (UPA) and the European Union consortium OPERA (Open PLC European Research Alliance) have adopted DS2 technology  as the basis of BPL standards.