* DSL speeds are affected by the network’s location. The further from the central office of the telephone company you are, the slower your high speed Internet connection will be.
* Some modems, particularly inexpensive models and internal modems, can only handle certain speeds of data transfer, limiting the speed of the Internet connection, regardless of the speed your high speed service can provide.
* Cable Internet services share bandwidth with satellite Internet access. If there are many subscribers using that same bandwidth, it can slow down the connection.
* Some older homes that use outdated telephone wires may be the cause of a slow Internet connection, as they can sometimes be limited to a 33.6 Kbps speed.
* If a Web site has particularly high traffic at the time you are trying to access it, your slow connection speed could be the fault of the Web site. If too many people are trying to access the same site at the same time, it could cause congestion and slow down the entire site.