Currently I have Qwest DSL (Century Link or whatever they are calling themselves this week) and have extremely slow Internet speed. Basically if I try to watch a video on YouTube or a news website, etc I have to wait for it to load almost all the way before I can play it. And if its longer than 3 minutes then there really isn't any point. A 2-3 minute YouTube video can take up to 10 minutes to load.

I have been told it possibly has to do with either my phone line or distance to central office. I live in the Bench Drive area of Aberdeen. No idea if this is true.


My question is this normal for Qwest? If so would I have better luck with Comcast? I hold both companies with equal contempt so doing business with either will just be something I have to hold my nose and do.

I desperately need better speed for internet and am hoping someone here can answer this for me.

Before anyone asks me some technichal questions I need to point out when it comes to this stuff I'm only a step or two above the Amish in knowlege and ability so doubt i will be able to answer. Thanks for any help.

I forgot to mention I do not subscribe to Comcast. I switch to satellite 12 years ago and have never looked back. Not sure if this matters for Internet.

Forgetting cost because one never knows what specials are in play and if their for 3 months or two years, we are very happy with Comcast internet. That "2-3 minute YouTube video" is instantaneous. Getting several windows opened doesn't seem to slow anything down (obviously a lot of windows will). My only downside, and it is probably more iTunes than Comcast is this: as I'm typing I have iTunes playing Springsteen's The Promise and every once in a while the music wiggles a bit if I'm doing some action on the internet. When I first click on a link or something it can skip. But, if I'm reading a long article it settles down.

I have Comcast. According to speedtest.net, my download speed is 29.70 Mbps (megabyte per second) and my upload speed is 5.75 Mbps.
Works for me, but I'm old enough to remember Compuserve on a 300-baud dial-up modem.

Wow! My download is 21.70 and upload 3.59. Interesting. As fast as I think it is, it appears I could have it a lot faster. Maybe I could get fast enough to read all the new stuff every yesterday.

The wires run downhill to my house. Maybe that helps.

Your skipping is iTunes eating up your processor. iTunes is a resource hog on a PC. It's fine on a Mac, but it bogs a PC down. Same with Quicktime. I suggest you try a different media player and see if you get a performance boost. VLC is a good one and can handle pretty much anything your throw at it.

I suggest you run a few different speed tests. Wally B posted a link to one site. Run that, then run from some other sites so you have a consensus speed and can call your provider and compare the speeds you're seeing with what you're paying for. Distance to the CO does matter, but if you're over the limit they shouldn't have sold it to you. It could be a simple problem on the copper back to the CO (splice tap, impedance, etc.) that is slowing you down. They can test to your house and see if the problem is in your home wiring or on their side of the circuit.

On a very good day, I get 1.5 down and 0.25 up. Century Link DSL.

Today isn't a particularly good day, 0.3 down and 0.25 up. I think it has something to do with wet phone lines, because I've lost connection at least 10 times and my voice quality is terrible.

I'll try that. Thanks everyone.