The nature of broadband is such that bandwidth is shared amongst users and it is therefore more likely that if you are downloading during peak times, it will take longer to complete. For this reason we would recommend that if you need to download a large amount of material, that  you try and do this outside of peak hours. This should ensure that optimum speeds are achieved.

What speed are you really getting?
In order to determine your current speed you will need to run a speed test (such as http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk).
The test will return a bandwidth reading and a graphical comparison of your speed.

This test should be run at least three times to ensure that no random results occur by clicking on retest at the bottom of the page. If you are getting good results from your speed tests but you are still getting poor download speeds it could be an issue of the source you are downloading from. Try doing a test download from another source like Microsoft who generally have very good servers and allow fast downloads.

Correct Setup.
While it's not always possible, it is best not to use any form of extension lead between the router and the BT socket. This includes hardwired extension sockets as these are still just extension leads. The further that your broadband signal has to run the more interference there will be and as such the slower the connection will run. A small increase in line noise can cause major problems, so it is always worth trying to run from the main BT socket without any extension leads.

It also very important to ensure that all equipment attached to the phone line is connecting through a DSL filter. Unfiltered equipment (Such as Phones, Fax, Answer-Machine, Cordless Telephone Base Units, Alarm Systems, Surge Protectors, Sky Set Top Boxes, Dialler Boxes, literally anything attached to the telephone line) can interfere with the broadband signal going into the router. If you are in doubt as to whether a piece of equipment attached to the telephone line is causing a problem, simply disconnect all devices (except the router) and try your broadband connection again.

File Sharing Programs (including Peer to Peer - P2P Software)
P2P software will utilise your connection even when you are not downloading, this leaving a reduced amount of speed available for web browsing.
We would advise you to disable any such software and re-examine the speed of your connection.

It is worth noting that Sky Anytime Via PC acts as a peer to peer software and will have the same affect as peer to peer software on your connection.

In addition you should never judge your download speeds on the speeds that you get when you download via P2P, the very nature of P2P means that download speeds are always going to be slower as you are relying on other broadband users connections and as these are upload speeds which are always slower than downloads speeds (as a guide standard broadband has upload speeds of around 256kbps while MAX and ADSL2 can go up to the 1000kbps but generally only getting around 700kbps) and it's very rare that the full upload speed can be used as various other application will always be using the upload speed. As an example for 256kbps upload speed you would generally be advised to run 3 upload slots which would all seed at around 4.00 kbps.

Spyware
These could include program types such as 'Spyware', 'Malware' and 'Adware'. The detection of such 'hidden' programs may prove difficult, but if you are infected, this could have a dramatic effect on the speed of the computer and the connection speed. We would recommend using a respectable spyware scanner  and remover to find and remove such items from the computer.