Comcast is introducing the first customers in the world to a pioneering new, ultra-low lag connectivity experience when they use interactive applications like gaming, videoconferencing and virtual reality. The rollout is already underway in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Rockville, Maryland. Aimed primarily at gamers on Nvidia GeForce NOW and Valve’s Steam, it will also improve videoconferencing and content streaming, some Meta XR headset experiences and any other applications that choose to leverage the open standard technology in the future, Comcast says.

“Comcast believes it can cut lag (or interaction delays) from hundreds of milliseconds down to 22 to 25 milliseconds, said Jason Livingood, VP of technology policy, product & standards at Comcast, in an interview with GamesBeat,” writes VentureBeat.

The new low-lag Internet tech is Comcast’s way of future-proofing its service by making it suitable for ever-improving interactive applications. “During our trials, downstream working latency was reduced by 78 percent, so our customers will see significant improvement,” a Comcast spokeswoman told PCMag.

“Latency-sensitive applications will experience less delay, and a smoother, more responsive end-to-end online experience compared to other options like 5G home Internet, where the network gets bogged down and the connection deteriorates when a lot of people are online, Comcast said,” according to VentureBeat.

“If you’re obsessed with your video-gaming prowess, a new, free upgrade from Comcast should make you want to verify that you have the right modem for your Xfinity service,” PCMag notes, because gamers will enjoy immediate and obvious improvement.

“Modern applications are real-time and interactive and require more than just fast speeds. Xfinity Internet’s lower lag times will be a differentiator for Comcast,”  Comcast Cable SVP Consumer Products Emily Waldorf said in the announcement.

The “working latency” offered by this upgrade “is not to be confused with traditional or ‘idle latency,’ which measures how fast data is transferred from one point to another on the network,” explains CNET. “Working latency measures a connection’s actual lag or delay under normal circumstances. For example, working latency is the delay you may experience while using multiple applications simultaneously.”