Why does my DSL go slower than a test shows?

I've gone through multiple speed tests, and am currently paying for a DSL connection upwards of 512kb/s, but I never get more than ~150kb/s. No one else has access to my connection, and despite hounding my ISP (Quest) I can't get more than the 150. I've used different modems and routers and can't figure any other solution. Is there some way I can tweak something to get the connection speed I should be getting?|||As far as your downloads go, you have to do some math.



You can go to http://speedtest.net and test your DSL download speed.

What this will give you is the speed in Mbps, which is Millions of bits per second.



However, in the real world files are measured in Bytes, KiloBytes, MegaBytes, etc.



Once you have your speed you can calculate what a maximum (real world) download speed will be.



A 1.5Mbps DSL connection can transfer data at 1,500,000 bits per second. (notice bits not bytes)



A byte is 8 bits so, 1,500,000 / 8 = 187,500 bytes per second.



A kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes, so 187,500 / 1024 so maximum download speed is 183KB/s



Every packet of data is checked for errors and resent if they exist. Overhead in the transfer of data takes up some more.



Also the speed and load on the server you are downloading from has to be accounted for. This 1.5Mbps DSL Internet connection can download at a maximum of about 175KB/s



Your observed maximum download speed of 150KB/s is correct for a 1 to 1.5Mbps DSL connection.



Only way to speed that up is to get a faster connection.



Good Luck|||How did you measure your speed exactly? Did you go to speed testing sites?



Update: A line speed of 1 Mbps will yield a download rate of about 122KB/s. Line speeds are measured in decimal bits per second while data speeds are measured in binary bytes per second. So 1Mbps equals 122KB/s.|||Check the signal strength at the modem.