Eugene's observations

To get the most speed available out of your broadband connection follow these tips.

Position the router next to the master socket ? the phone socket that is closest to where the line enters the property. This minimises the distance that the signals travel and usually gives the opportunity of isolating your other internal wiring to preclude that as being responsible for performance degradation (which it often is unless recently professionally installed).

If you can demonstrate consistent low readings from the BT Speedtester and you have eliminated the possibility of your internal wiring or appliances causing the problem, then you can probably ask your ISP to have an engineer replace your socket for a modern one that removes the need for additional microfilters in your property. If you do not have this type of filtering you must have microfilters on every in use phone socket including Sky boxes, fax machines, ringers and security alarms.

Leave your modem (often incorporated in a router) switched on 24 hours a day. Each time it is powered off a retraining has to take place: for the next 10 days your line speed is monitored automatically. This involves every packet of data (e.g. web pages viewed or e-mail transmitted) being counted to see if it is an initial time being sent or a retransmission. If the ratio of retransmissions to total transmissions is above a threshold your line will be broken and reconnected at lower speed. If the ratio is below a threshold the line will be broken and re-established at a higher speed. This automated fluctuating of line speed settles down to deliver the fastest speed your line can sustain consistently but it takes 10 days.

If your master socket is in an inconvenient place for your computer, then use the mains electrical circuit to deliver the signal so as to minimise loss. Wireless signals are never constant and always slower than a wired connection. They are distorted by household appliances that share the 2.4 GHz frequency such as cordless phones and microwave ovens.

If you still are frustrated by download speeds, see if you are in a place where fibre optic connections are possible. These normally increase the speed by a factor of at least 5.