Thats weird. I have a 3Mbs connection and I usually get almost that. Here's a test I just did:

See? Thats over 90%. I think you are being screwed. But Im no expert on these things so I dont know.

See if you know anyone else who uses the same company as you and see what they have to compare.

How far are you away from your exchange? Because 2Mbps is ridiculously low for an 8Mbps connection, I average around 5Mbps (or are you talking in bytes?)

EDIT: You can't be talking in bytes, because that would mean you're on a 16mbit connection.

If you are using wireless and have multiple devices hooked up, then that could explain why you see bad performance rates. Every devices splits your bandwidth, so if you had Wii, PS3, and 3 computers on a wireless network it would be split 5 ways. If other people are leaching off of you, it could be worse.

Anyways, if you have a PC hooked up via Ethernet cable, then check the speed with that. If you are still no where close to what they advertise, call and complain. I had verizon FIOS and i was supposed to get 20Mbps, and all of a sudden it dropped to like 5Mbps. Turns out animals ate the cables in the roof of my apartment

@soleron

I get advertised speed with Road Runner and Verizon FIOS every single time. Maybe in the US it is a lot better than in the UK.

nordlead said: If you are using wireless and have multiple devices hooked up, then that could explain why you see bad performance rates. Every devices splits your bandwidth, so if you had Wii, PS3, and 3 computers on a wireless network it would be split 5 ways. If other people are leaching off of you, it could be worse. Anyways, if you have a PC hooked up via Ethernet cable, then check the speed with that. If you are still no where close to what they advertise, call and complain. I had verizon FIOS and i was supposed to get 20Mbps, and all of a sudden it dropped to like 5Mbps. Turns out animals ate the cables in the roof of my apartment

Remember though, that the wireless router won't just instantly split the connection 5 ways. If you only have 1 of the 5 devices downloading something, you will be fine, but if they are all trying to download something, then it will be split.

Well, it all depends on the type of line that is being used. If you're getting a connection through a  fiber-optic cable line, then you're going to be getting a connection that is much closer to what is being advertised.

If it's running through a DSL line, then factors such as distance from the exchange, quality of the cabling, and even weather conditions can have detrimental effects on the speed (due to the fact that it's copper cabling which picks up noise)

The US is far more cable-centric than the UK, and, as such, firms have invested more money into installing cable lines, particularly in the more built up areas of the US. But, in the UK, things such as cable TV never really took off (consumers preferred satellite digital television over cabled), and with the dawn of broadband it was simply more cost effective for BT (mainly, they have a monopoly due to the fact that they used to be state-owned) to upgrade existing lines to DSL.

You guys are unlucky. I usually get about 110% of my advertised connection speed (no, I'm not kidding).

You have got to be kidding - I usually get 99% of advertised CS with my cable...

My internet speed is 500k something. And it costs $29.99 a month. 1.5 meg speed costs $50.00 a month where I live. It is taking forever to download all of those E3 videos from xbox live.

My internet company advertises up to 1.5 Mbps and I get 1.55 Mbps, I must be special :) lol