[pod]

See, half the problem with consumer broadband connections is that they're operating over an infrastructure that could be anywhere from five to fifty years old. Sure, the DSLAM/CMTS might be circa 2005 or something, but the intervening wire is god-knows-how-old.

Wi-Fi complicates things. Most people leave their wireless routers in their default configuration when they buy them. Out of the box, 'oooh, I'm on the internet! Without wires!'

Which is fine and dandy, but most of the time, you have to secure your wireless connection, and also when I do it, I take the extra step of switching the channel to one of the less common ones. Channel 2 I usually put it to.

Also, the router itself could be a problem. Most Wi-Fi routers have a pretty lousy power output. That was the problem here at our apt. We have a DSL line (that works decent, surprisingly) coming in, that goes to a wireless router. Originally, the router was a bog-standard Linksys, the one everyone has. Now, that router is fantastic. But only for one or two people, with maybe one intervening room. The Linksys here was in a hot outdoor closet, serving ten people across six thousand square feet. It frequently overheated, and needed to be reset. So, what I did was I installed a weatherized, high-power commercial wireless router. Problem solved. It's been running for twenty days now without a problem.

Now, I wouldn't suggest for you a commercial router, since I'm guessing it's just you in a small condo. But, you can get cheap amplifiers for existing wireless routers. That will solve the wireless weak link. Next step would be to have some techs to come out and check the line.

Also, you can usually point your web browser at the DSL device itself (try 192.168.1.254) and see what speed you're synced at, line conditions, etc...