- Local ISP Clear Access will supply super fast internet speeds at 40Gbps for those attending this year’s NAG LAG at the rAge Expo.
- This is thanks to Quark, a fibre offering from Vuma and Clear Access specifically tailored to gamers.
- Pricing depends on your area, but the fastest speeds of 500Mbps starts at R1 349 per month.
South African fibre provider Vuma has teamed up with ISP Clear Access to launch a new broadband fibre internet product – Quark. Unlike other packages offered by Clear Access, Quark is tailored and optimised for “serious gamers.” Quark first made landfall during last year’s rAge expo where those who joined in on the traditional NAG LAN were able to make use of it for the first time.
Its namesake denotes the high-speed internet that the providers are offering with the new product. Vuma describes the package as one that gives “incredibly high-speed connectivity capabilities, promises zero latency and low contention, and as such offers less buffering and accelerated network responses.”
At this year’s rAge Expo, Quark will again be the go-to internet connection for the NAG LAN, with the expected over 600 gamers heading into the event set to enjoy a whopping 40Gbps fibre connection that Clear Access will supply at no charge.
Gamers who enjoy the connection speeds will be able to check out more Quark offerings at the Clear Access booth at rAge, where they will also be able to conduct ping tests of their favourite games.
There are three Quark tiers heading to market:
The first is the base Quark which offers 100Mbps, followed by DuoQuark at 200Mbps and finally Penta Quark at, you guessed it, 500Mbps.
Pricing depends on the area in which you live. In Fairland, Johannesburg base Quark pricing begins at R1 049 per month and Duo Quark at R1 149 per month. Penta Quark is not available in the area for now. It is available in Northcliff, however, and starts at R1 349 per month. So it’s a bit more expensive than similar download speed offerings from Vuma, but supposedly you’re paying for the optimisation.
Clear Access is running a special today for users that sign up for Quark, who will also receive a UPS for their routers to keep the connection going even during loadshedding.
“Basically, Quark enables users to stream and game on a lightning-fast and reliable fibre connection, no matter the time of day or where they are in the world,” says Rob Nelson, Marketing Manager at Clear Access.
“This is a game changer for serious players in the country, being the first product of its kind aimed specifically at elevating the gaming experience through an incredibly resilient network.”
Ok, so the marketing to “serious” gamers is a bit passé. Quark seems like the gaming PC of internet products, and we’re surprised it doesn’t come bundled with RGB lighting on the router. But supposed numbers on the Clear Access website do show some promise for these offerings.
For example, according to Clear Access, using Quark will see you have 0ms ping on Call of Duty Warzone, Valorant, Rocket League, Escape from Tarkov, Minecraft, Counter-Strike 2, and around 175ms playing Diablo IV.
This ping will surely be attractive to feverish fans of multiplayer gaming in South Africa. Local gamers are always at the mercy of servers in Europe, which usually means some lag when playing with other international players. Local gamers have long complained about this server lag, which has led to some companies bringing servers for popular games to South Africa, like Valorant, to begin levelling the field between local and international players.
“A quark system will find the quickest way to connect a gamer or user to a server. Because of this, Quark users experience absolutely no lag on the network and incredibly fast ping rates – the only lag is the time it takes light to travel,” adds Nelson.
You can find out more about Clear Access and Quark here.
