GameArena Upgrade.

[PtP]

Telstra BigPond is pleased to announce some big news - a significant expansion to the GameArena platform is currently in the works, the goal of which is to further establish GameArena as a premier service for online gaming in Australia.

On July 20, 2003, the expansion will be officially launched to the public. The new service will include many improvements across the entire site, based on feedback from current users of the service and adding in functionality to better cater for the rapid growth of online gaming.

Telstra BigPond ADSL and Cable users will, of course, continue to be able to enjoy GameArena as an unmetered site - as always, playing on the GameArena servers and downloading from the file servers will not count towards your monthly usage. As part of the changes, we will bolster the existing GameArena service to provide faster and more reliable downloads for all users, to help minimise problems during peak times - allowing gamers to get the content they want when they want it.

Of course, a significant aspect of the expansion is aimed at catering to one of the most common requests we've been getting from gamers - more game servers! These new servers will be used to boost existing game types that are currently running at capacity, and will also allow further development of the very popular GameArena ladders, boosting the available services for existing game types and providing the ability to run more ladders for other games.

[[WTF]RustyBlade]

Great to hear! We get something instead of it being taken away :)

[chukka]

:) Woooohoooo.................... :) ..........ps. like ya new sig Rusty........ 8)

[[WTF]RustyBlade]

:D Thanks Chukkybabe

[Diggler]

This is some ripper news. From the new poll they have put up, people are definitely interested in more variety of games... I really hope this comes to fruition.

[Bully]

OPTUS has cut the prices of its high-usage broadband services by as much as 25 per cent and Telstra BigPond has flagged a "new look" service, as the market grows increasingly competitive.

The two heaviest-usage OptusNet Cable plans will be reduced from $134.95 to $99.95 for 5GB and $265.95 to $239.95 for 10GB per month, for customers who have the service bundled with other Optus products. Prices will move from $154.95 to $129.95 and from $305.95 to $299.95 per month for "stand-alone" customers. An Optus spokeswoman said 95 per cent of new broadband customers bought the "bundled" service.
The telco has also increased the amount of data customers can download - the 5GB service increases to 6GB and the 10GB plan goes up to 15GB.

Although Optus has been offering cable internet since 1999, the broadband market has exploded in the past 18 months. More than 100 companies now offer services for as little as $44.95 per month.

The spokeswoman said while the company monitored the market, the decision was primarily aimed at encouraging customers from the cheaper entry-level plans, which begin at $54.95 per month, to higher-usage plans.

"We're not expecting a huge influx of new customers... this is really an opportunity for our existing customer base," she said. She said Optus now had over 100,000 fast internet customers and said analyst figures showed Optus' customer base was growing at three times the rate of the overall market.

Optus' main rival in the internet space is Telstra's BigPond division, which has the largest share of the market. BigPond cut its high-usage broadband plan prices dramatically in November and also increased the amount of data customers could download on lower-usage plans.

The two are still matching on entry-level prices at $54.95 per month, although Optus charges $10 more for customers who do not take Optus bundles.

Telstra BigPond spokeswoman Kerrina Lawrence declined to comment on the Optus move but said BigPond would soon launch a new initiative to stimulate demand for the company's broadband service. She would not reveal details, but said the move was "imminent".

"You'll very soon see a new-look BigPond," Ms Lawrence said.

That must be alot to do with the GA upgrade
so to the consumer it will be
If yah wanna leach stuff=optus
If yah wanna play games=Bigpond