Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Early last year we ran an article highlighting the need to bring Limelight Networks to South Africa - the content distribution network (CDN) that hosts most of Xbox LIVE's content downloads, such as demos, DLC, videos, etc. The reason is simple: a locally hosted point of presence (POP) would mean fast and cheap downloads from Xbox LIVE, instead of pulling all our content off international servers. Unfortunately, it was never realized due to local ISPs being unable to come to an agreement with Limelight, but this is set to change soon, according to an article on local IT news site MyBroadband, which has confirmed that Business Connexion (BCX) will be establishing a Limelight Networks CDN POP at their Midrand data centre, offering Southern African service providers the opportunity to peer locally with the network.

The article, however, does sight possible problems with the new CDN POP setup, specifically on pricing side of things, saying that BCX may be asking too much for the service which could hamper the initial uptake by local ISPs, but BCX has responded saying that it has only met "with a couple of local ISPs for initial discussions and we have yet to outline the economics". In other words, it's too early to know for sure.

The good news is that the service is set to launch in October 2010, just in time for the official launch of Xbox LIVE in South Africa in November, so we'll know soon enough. Hopefully most of the major players in the ISP market will eventually take up the offer, and we'll soon be enjoying fast, local downloads on Xbox LIVE.

P.S. In case you're wondering, this won't improve your multiplayer gaming experience, only your direct downloads from Xbox LIVE.