In reply to a post by davidforester:

I am at my wits end as over the last three weeks my internet speed has been running at less than 0.21mbs whereas before it was 1.5mbs (the slow speed being down to the distance to the exchange being about 4 miles. This speed test was derived with the router plugged straight into the test socket and the telephone disconnected.

I have replaced my router with a new Netgear DGN1000 with no alteration to the line speed.

I have contacted my ISP Freeola and they say that the speed is the best that can be achieved and nothing can be done to resolve the present situation.

Ask them what the FTR (Fault Threshold Rate) is for your connection. Unless you had a very low speed connection some time in your initial 10 day period, it will be far higher than 283kbps.

On some routers you can adjust the acceptable noise margin of the connection which does give the risk of more errors but can also increase your speed.

Mine was initially set to over 12DB and I dropped it to 8DB. My connection sync speed increased from about 2700 to 3900. I did not have any issues with losing connection before or after doing this.

Worth a try but make a note of your original settings first before you begin.

I found the best 3G signal came from Three.