I’ve been a user of TM Net’s ADSL service, Streamyx, for almost five years now and if I had to sum it up in one word it would be: inconsistent. If I was allowed two words, the second word would still be “inconsistent” and the first word would be unprintable.

When I first I started using the service, there was only one IP address range available to users: 219.95.*.*. The Streamyx IP address range has diversified since then and I can now get IP addresses beginning with 60, 118 and 218. As any Streamyx user can tell you, not all these IP addresses are equal when it comes to speed.

I’ve found the best IPs are the ones beginning with 219.95.*.* with the first asterisk having only two digits. Sites load faster, files download faster, and gaming-wise, those IPs have the lowest ping rates. I can consistently get ping rates of 400-plus in Guild Wars with a 219.95.[two digits].* IP address. The other IPs may have pings double that.

(On a side note, if you’re a Malaysian Guild Wars player, consider playing on Korean servers for the lowest possible pings.)

If speed is of the essence, I simply disconnect and reconnect until I get one of those favourable IPs. It may take a minute or two to get it but it’s worth the effort.