Question : How can I increase slow O2 Broadband speed?

I recently switched from Orange to O2 and have failed to consistently get more than 10 Mbps download speed despite O2 claiming that  there has been no connection loss and 17.9 Mbps is getting to the router. I have tried resetting routers and changing wireless channels, as well as alternative options using both the supplied O2 wireless II router and my own Linksys WAG54GX2 SRX 200, ethernet cable and wireless, PC and Macbook Pro, but nothing seems to have a dramatic impact. Also, on about 20% of all occasions when I try and load a web page the system cannot even connect to the server after about 30 seconds of trying. My main system is a Macbook Pro, OS X 10.5.7 with Safari 4.02. I have a noise filter fitted on the line. Please help!

Answer : How can I increase slow O2 Broadband speed?

I finally got through to O2 level 2 support and spoke to someone that knew what they were talking about. They talked me through how to tweak my ethernet settings on both PC and Mac (principally moving to 100 base TX full-duplex) and now I am getting over 15 Mbps download.

However, I cannot get this to replicate in wireless mode with even just one device connected, with typical download speeds remaining at around 9 Mbps on both PC and Mac. I have tried adjusting router channel settings (I have tried 1,2,6,8, 11 and 13 in manual mode and automatic) and I have tried switching between 802.11 b/g and 802.11 g, but no material impact.

Apparently contention ratio is 121, but this is one area where the O2 advisor seemed to have no idea! Not sure if it is still relevant now though given the boosted ethernet speed.

Any ideas on what to do next?