I generally get "better" than the average using speedtest, My download speed is usually adequate, but my upload is deficient when net traffic is heavy.
I am using voip as my primary phone system and when traffis is heavy, my voice is poorly understood.
What is the next general level of DL service?
Thanks.
EDIT: My max upload is capped at .51 Kbs.
Or move to Korea, Japan, Holland or Scandinavia, where symetric fiber with 100/100mbit is getting very common today.
Your problem isn't speed - more like latency (slowing of some of the packets) or packet loss. If the individual packets don't arrive in a timely fashion or there are some drops, you will have broken speech. Speed is related but not directly. For example, if all the packets are going just fine, but one drops, you will get static at that moment. If one slows down, VOIP can't wait and it will consider the packet lost.
I'd say you have to check with your ISP if there is anything they can suggest to reduce your problem - possibly going to a commercial line with guaranteed specs.
ADSL is at its best, 24Mb down, 2.5Mb up (using annex M).
Technically in POTS based ISPs, next is VDSL (Very high bitrate digital subscriber line) which is 200 Mb down (not sure on upload).
However, not many companies have released it. I think that soon, we are going to have a wave of ISPs releasing bonded ADSL2+ services (not dual ADSL, actual bonded - so your equipment thinks it is connected at 48/5 instead of 2x 24/2.5) as most already have this service available to them on their DSLAMS and it is only a case of the user buying a ~£100 modem/router... (anyone who wants this sort of service, would be happy to pay that!) This is also cheaper compared to the many thousands it would cost to roll out VDSL equipment.
Also, the best lines available to date are fiber, direct to your premisis and terminating at a data center - it is available to anyone with the cash and up to many GBs in speed, just don't expect it to be cheap.
Alternatives to look for are cable based services. Most are rolling out DOCSIS 3 based networks at the moment which can rival VDSL at over 160KB/s.
(VDSL2 is also better than VDSL, but if your provider hasn't rolled out VDSL, don't expect 250Mb Up/Down to be coming to you anytime soon!)
"ADSL is at its best, 24Mb down, 2.5Mb up (using annex M)."
That's not strictly true - using Annex M, you trade some download bandwidth for upload bandwidth - it literally has to use some of the frequencies that were reserved for download.
So if you are lucky enough to be that close to the exchange to see 24mbps down, you can tradesome of it, to give you the 2.5mbps up.
But 2+ really drops after a short distance back to regular ADSL2 speeds, so unless you live within throwing distance of an exchange, you aren't going to see those speeds.
Bonded ADSL could be the to go, as you could either bond some ADSLs together to get the increased upload, or bond with SDSL to get the upload from that and the decent download from an ADSL.
