So... Internet speed. I'm starting to get really frustrated. I swear it gets slower all the time. My contract expires in a month and I'm happy to change companies, but now I'm starting to wonder if it would even be any better.
I have DSL, the fastest available in my area. I pay for 3 Mbps, and I get about 200 kbps. On a *really* good day, I might get 300. Never any more than that.
I looked at another DSL company and punched my address in their web site. The fastest they offer for my area is 2 Mbps, which I figure translates to "at least as slow as it is now, if not slower." At least that would be cheaper.
Worst of all is the upload speed. I rarely get more than 10 kbps. Considering the fact that I regularly upload videos to YouTube (and have to leave my computer on all night to do so), this is ridiculous. I can hardly handle playing online games. I certainly can't host any. It's driving me nuts. I'm all set and ready to buy this new computer in December, as soon as I get paid, but I still won't be able to get faster internet.
The thing is, I live near the center of the city. I'm in a touristy area. Prague Castle is right around the corner. I'm not on the outskirts here. I'm not in a suburb. I can't understand why the speed is so slow.
The customer support for my current ISP is practically non-existent. They're one of the biggest phone/tv/internet companies in the country, but they have one single guy who speaks English, who is not often there when I try to call for help. Even when I get the guy on the phone, he's terribly unhelpful. When I tell him my internet goes down all the time, he insists that everything looks fine on their end and tries to sell me a new modem. (My modem is new. There's nothing wrong with it.) The one time I got them to send a technician to have a look, the guy came 4 hours early, when I was still at work, said "everything looks fine to me" (without going into the building), left, and refused to come back.
There is a cable internet company here, but they don't offer service to my address. I'd be willing to invest in having them install cable in my building, if it meant I could have fast internet, but there doesn't seem to be any option to do so. Again, I am very close to the center of the city.
Any ideas on anything I can do to increase my internet speed, short of moving? I'm really settled here and I love my apartment and the area where I live. There's a park outside my window. I don't want to leave. At the same time, I'm pulling my hair out here. : (