^My PS3 is connected via WiFi to my access point, I have an el-cheapo 20Mb/s ADSL internet connection and Italy is certainly not known for high quality bandwidth. But the only time it took me an hour to download a demo was when the KZ2 demo downloads overwhelmed the PSN servers, I usually download 200-400KBps. And playing KZ2 online doesn't exhibit any major lag at all.
Maybe it's highly dependent on geographical location, and your friend(s)' PS3s get connected to overloaded PSN servers?
I'm just saying that PSN for me has always been as good as it can get, so I am very glad I'm getting such a good service for free, I can't imagine what could be better if I paid 50€ a year for it.
In other cases I suppose your mileage may vary.
What I hate about the XBL subscrption thing is that with silver you're not just given a basic/more laggy/less servers experience that you can upgrade by paying for gold. You can't play internet multiplayer, full stop. Coming from PC gaming, the very concept of having your software gimped in such a way is totally alien to me.
If I'm buying a multiplayer game like L4D, and part of the price goes to Microsoft, I don't see why some of that money doesnt cover a basic internet multiplayer service.
