Aside from downloading, is surfing normal? I mean, do you have any problem at surfing from one site to the other?
Is download always slow or is it when you download from specific sites. Download speed is heavilly dependent on the load on the servers from which you download. Sometimes, for example, downloading from microsoft updates can be slow, at other times it can be fast. Downloading drivers from Asus can take ages. Downloading with file sharing programs can be very slow indeed.
What you should do is approach your service provider again and ask him to run a speed test to one of their dedicated sites. This will give you a clear picture about how close download speed is in relation to the speed that you pay for.
Hi Skeptic,
I download files through Firefox, using the "download statusbar" add-on.
My surfing speed is not always normal, no. It can be sluggish at times, too. But mostly it's downloading actual files which is very slow.
I also do not think the slowness is site-specific. Regardless of where I download from, it is slow.
My service provider is of no help, unfortunately. It's a small company and whenever I call them, they always say they have to look into something, to do more research and will call me back, but they never call me back, so I have to end up calling them back.
I would switch ISPs, but since I live in a very remote area, there is no other company which offers high-speed internet in my location. So I'm pretty much stuck with this, unless I ever move.
Sometimes I notice that if I don't reboot my computer, my download speed gets better, the longer the computer has stayed on (really strange, I know). It makes me never want to reboot again!
Thanks again for your help.
Jeff