One Rapidshare download finishes, the next is very slow

[#1]

(I tried to be as informative in the topic as possible to make it easier for other users to search for this topic if they experience similar problems!)
My problem: I am currently downloading from rapidshare.com, my line will support a max of 2.2mb, whilst downloading one file the download will go at max speed, once this download finishes and I then begin another download, this download is much, much slower - it seems to max out at 30kb/s (0.3mb). It seems like my internet will let me download ONCE at my max line speed, then instantly caps me down to 0.3mb for any other downloads - rather pathetic!
This has been happening throughout the evening, for a short while this would be fixed if I rebooted my router - but then the problem would happen again, I haven't rebooted my router before this started happening.
I have read other threads in this forum and now realise that rebooting my router often is not a good idea - but as stated above, this started happening before I rebooted the router several times
I ran the bt speed test and the results were normal - unfortunately I didn't write them down and you can only do the test once every 3 hours
This is what plusnet says (phone number removed for obvious reasons):
"Phone exchange:
    HUDDERSFIELD
Estimated line speed:
    2.5 - Checked on 2009-06-17 17:37:59
Current line speed:
    2000"
I seem to get correct speeds on other online speed checkers (roughly 2mb) but whenever I try and download from rapidshare/other hosting site/download.com I get very low speeds.
Can anyone help?

[#2]

There should be a way of doing a disconnect/reconnect via your router interface (it drops the PPP session only) to get you on to a different gateway. As this doesn't drop sync with the exchange it won't affect your IP Profile.

[#3]

Oh really? Great, I tried that last time and my speed shot back up again.
But still - the speed shouldn't drop once a download finishes, any ideas why it's doing this?
adie:quote

[#4]

What account type are you on? It may be the slower speed is the one you are supposed to see and that the first download after you connect is somehow bypassing the intended throttling.

[#5]

I'm on PlusNet unlimited.
I believed my exchange has recently been ADSL2 enabled.
I really don't think (and hope) that my speed is being throttled to 30kb/s as that's simply unsatisfactory even for extreme peak usage.
Due to my distance from the exchange I have a relatively poor connection at the best of times (maximum 220kb/s download speeds) - I would presume that I should be entitled to this speed 100% of the time.

[#6]

There's a chart for traffic shaping here http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/plusnet_shaping.htm  just choose your product from the drop down list and see if this has any bearing on what your seeing, even if you max out  the product will still be shaped

[#7]

Don't forget that most downloaders report bytes per second (KBps) and that the rates shown on the Plusnet and Kitz sites are bits per second (Kbps).
Between 6pm and and 11pm you should only be expecting to see 32KBps from download sites.

[#8]

Quote from: tobykim

There's a chart for traffic shaping here http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/plusnet_shaping.htm  just choose your product from the drop down list and see if this has any bearing on what your seeing, even if you max out  the product will still be shaped

OK so I select PlusNet "Unlimited" (funny) from £15.99.
I am using RapidShare, so I need to look at 'Download Sites' according to the key at the bottom.
The chart says that between 1200 and 0000 the speed is restricted from 1mb at 1200 down to a minimum of 256Kbps between 1800 and 2300 (where it increases to 512Kbps) then back up to NR (no restriction, so 2mb for me) at 0000.
This is absolutely freaking absurd! I cannot believe the service is so crippled for 12 hours during the day. This basically makes using download sites like Megaupload and Rapidshare absolutely useless during peak times.

Quote from: jelv

Don't forget that most downloaders report bytes per second (KBps) and that the rates shown on the Plusnet and Kitz sites are bits per second (Kbps). Between 6pm and and 11pm you should only be expecting to see 32KBps from download sites.

I'm not using a downloader. I am just downloading through my browser.
As it's now 2300 my download speed has 'jumped' up to a max of 60KB/s, although still seems to maintain 30-40KB/s instead of my max 220KB/s speed experienced earlier in the day.

[#9]

A browser is a downloader - and it reports bytes per second.
How do you think PN were able to offer unlimited downloads for such a cheap price if it was not for the traffic shaping (you could check out the link in my signature for my thoughts on the 'Unlimited' moniker).

[#10]

Apologies, yes you're right it's reporting bytes per second.
What I don't understand is until I'd been moved to ADSL2 I never used to experience speeds lower than 50-60KB/s when using download sites, I don't understand why this has suddenly changed? I got really excited when I realised the ADSL2 upgrade meant I could achieve speeds of up to 220KB/s - but now this is pretty much meaningless as I'm throttled to (what appears to be) an even lower speed than I was achieving before.
Edit: after doing a bit of reading i realise that the so-called 'Unlimited' package obviously isn't for me.
adie:quote

[#11]

Hey Steve
You are not alone.:(
I too signed up to the 'Unlimited' package thinking it would be ideal for my large RS downloads, but I'm now regretting signing up for the 12 month contract.
It's fine if you can schedule all your big downloads for the hours between 00:00 and 8:00 (IIRC), which I try and do now.
I've been complaining to Plusnet for weeks about the slow speeds (120KB/s) I've been experiencing.  I used to get 500KB/s with my old package at all times, so figured my speeds would remain the same.
Not once have they mentioned that my speed issues may be due to the package I'm on (which is no longer available AFAIK).
I still get great download speeds, but only at off-peak times.
Only last night, I was getting 500+KB/s whilst using FlashGet, but between 8:00 and 9.00am, the speed plummeted to 120KB/s.
Then found this thread which explains a lot.
Is there any way to port forward things I wonder?
Thanks.