>>>>>Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>I am considering changing my internet connection from DSL to Cable and want to compare costs. How do I find out what connection speed I am getting right now with DSL? The cable guy said that their default speed is 2 Mb by 2 Mb (upload and download). I want to see what is my current speed.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>There are many services you can use. One possibility: http://www.speedtest.net/ -- once you get there, wait a bit until it finds a "recommended server" (one closest to you), then click "Start test using the recommended server" -button.
>>>>
>>>>Pertti
>>>
>>>Thank you very much. The test result show that I have 0.78 Mb/s Download and 0.10 Mb/s Upload. Doesn't it seem a little too slow for DSL?
>>
>>You should always try several. Results will vary by time of day; also the test servers themselves may become overloaded at some times.
>>
>>Your ISP should have a speed test, it may not be easy to find or advertised but maybe you can find it by Googling your ISP and "speed test".
>>
>>There is a directory of sorts at http://www.dslreports.com/stest
>>
>>Another test I've used a few times is at numion.com.
>
>Thank you. I will follow your suggestions.

Another thing to bear in mind with ADSL is that the available speed decreases with distance. If your site is too far away from the nearest telephone exchange, you can't get higher speed with ADSL no matter how much you pay. I had this happen just today with a client - they're paying for 2.5 - 3.0Mbps download speed, but they can't get more than 1.5 because they're too far away. The ISP is supposed to be migrating them to a closer exchange but they don't know exactly when.

One advantage of cable is that it isn't affected by distance. There is the downside that many other users are likely sharing your cable, but the available bandwidth is far higher than ADSL so the user experience can be pretty good.