If you are not happy with your broadband connection and think it should be faster, then you should try a few things to improve the speed or find out why it’s not performing better.

First, you should know what kind of connection you have and what speeds you can expect. You can find this through your Internet Service Provider (ISP), the company that gives you Internet connection. Most common connections today are DSL, Cable and Wireless. For example, if you have a 20Mbps connection, you should be able to download with speeds of up to 2MB/sec (over 2000kb per sec). Or if you have a 1.5Mbps connection, then you can download only up to 150kb/sec. Cable speeds vary and can be affected by all sorts of factors (your home’s location for example).

1. Test your actual speed at speedtest.net. This service will show your current speed accurately. In my last test I was able to achieve a speed of around 8Mbps. My ISP claims that it supports speeds of up to 24Mbps, so I should probably do something about this.

2. Next, test your modem. If you are not happy with the speed, maybe the modem is slow. To be sure, try to find a spare one (borrow one from a neighbor or a friend) and see if that one offers faster speeds.

3. If your modem is more than one year old, you should go to its manufacturer’s Web site and see if there are any firmware updates for your model. Simply go to their support or download page, enter your model number and check which is the latest version of the firmware. Then log into your modem and see the current version of your modem’s firmware. If the one on the Web site has a higher number, then you should update the firmware. Instructions should be on the Web site and/or in the modem.

4. Some Web sites suggest that you check your modem’s settings and parameters, but I’m not sure how this will help. If it works at all, then everything is correctly set up. Maybe your ISP’s support team can help you with this task. You can call them and ask what they suggest to improve your broadband speed.

5. Your ISP and your phone line service should inspect your line to see if there are any interferences that could disturb and slow down the data transfer. They can run some test and make necessary arrangements if there are problems with the line.

6. If you have a DSL connection, you should test the line for noise. If there is hiss or unusual sounds when you talk over the phone, then you may have to install a better filter (central filter for cordless phones) or a DSL/POTS splitter at the point where the line comes into your house. This will separate your telephone connection into two parts: one for the phone, and another for the DSL modem. Then the modem will be completely isolated from the phone and they won’t interfere with each other.

7. There is some optimization software that you can install to improve your connection and download speeds. These tweaks will adjust your network and browser settings and hopefully the speeds will improve. For example, for the Firefox browser, there are the Firetune and Fasterfox programs. To find other software, just type your browser’s name and keywords “performance” and “tweaks” in Google.

8. For downloads of large files use a download manager such as Flashget. Flashget can split a file in parts, download them separately and reassemble it when the downloads are complete. Flashget will use the maximum speed of your connection while downloading.