Maybe the collected wisdom of this board can help me…
I have been using my old DSL line/modem for 10 or so years. I never got the promised download speeds, but we know how marketing works. My best speeds were around 160-170 kbps. The lowest “guaranteed” speed was something in the mid 300s. But it was enough for my general needs. I frequently download larger files around 600 MB, but had no problems with the download taking 90-120 minutes.
Some time ago (time flies, so it’s been a good number of months by now), the quality of my service went down from one day to the next. My download speed seems to be set to 54.2 kbps (or lower during problematic times). It might fluctuate a bit above that for a second or two, but never above 60 kbps, and it always settles down again at exactly 54.2. My previously unlimited simultaneous download connections have been reduced to three, no matter how many connections the download servers offer. I have been experiencing even lower speeds and frequently interrupted Internet accessibility, seemingly linked with high traffic times such as school vacations, evening hours and weekends. Since I also need my Internet connection for work, this is unacceptable.
Interestingly enough, my iPad is able to uphold the Internet connection longer than the laptop. It seems the iPad needs less whatever it is that is in low supply. But often, I simply can’t receive or send emails or access the web.
I have done nothing within my four walls that might have caused any changes.
I called my provider. Their tech support was 100% sure that it was my out-dated modem (possible, but why the sudden change?) and suggested I’d upgrade to a fiber cable connection with 12 Mbps download speeds. I’d be sooooo happy and all my problems would be solved.
Of course not. The same 54.2 kbps. I.e. latest equipment and change from DSL to cable didn’t have any effect whatsoever.
Tech support had me perform uncountable online speed tests, which all resulted in 12 Mbps download speeds. This made them argue that everything was working fine and I should basically go away. My insistence that there is a problem that needs to be fixed made one tech support person reply they’d checked again and the plan with 12 Mbps download speed was not actually to deliver that speed, but rather a speed between 300 and 600 kbps (!). After my by that time somewhat upset reply 
, they hung up on me.
The conversation with yet another tech support person (#10 or so) was a bit better. The first person to acknowledge that there actually was a problem and 54.2 kbps was not acceptable. She suggested that latency was the reason.
I don’t know enough about the technical side of it, but wouldn’t latency affect both the online speed test as well as my actual download speed? Also, how would latency explain the sudden decrease in speed and the limitation in simultaneous download connections? Why would the same latency problem exist with both DSL and cable connection? Does this make any sense?
Right now, a technician is supposed to check the outside connections next Monday. I had a hard time convincing them (maybe incorrectly, that’s why I’m asking for input here) that since I didn’t change anything inside my own four walls, the problem couldn’t originate there and that it would make more sense to check outside connections first. (Otherwise, the first technician appointment would have only covered the inside and I would have to make another appointment for them to check outside.)
I definitely need to solve this issue ASAP. Does anybody have any idea what might cause it? Does it even make sense to check in- and outside connections when particularly the reduced number of simultaneous download connections make it seem like some conscious decision and change in parameters somewhere at the provider’s end? Particularly since the problem persisted through the change from DSL to cable?
Any information that would a) help me understand more about the general technical aspect of it and b) suggest some possible reasons for my problem would be greatly appreciated! I hate it when I have to take their word for whatever it is they’re trying to tell me, particularly when I already know that half of it is a bag full of BS.
Thanks for your patience reading this lengthy novel and thanks for your input!!!
