CenturyLink High Speed DSL Issues

This is not the normal type of question for this forum, but I have gotten such great help on everything else here I figured I would give it a shot.

I have DSL from CenturyLink (formerly Embarq). Supposed to get 3.0 mbps. I can turn on the modem and get 3.0 or better. Then, after about 5 minutes, it will drop to 2.0, then after an hour down to 1.0 and it will keep going down to about 0.4 or 0.5. I can unplug the cable modem, wait one minute, plug it back in, and the speed will go immediately to 3.0 or better, and the cycle repeats itself.

CenturyLink has been out a lot of times. Tested lines and switched pairs on the incoming DSL cable to make sure. Replaced the modem. Reset everything over and over. When they leave, it is working, but as I explained above, it will gradually start dropping again. I am resigned to just turning the modem off and on at least once a day and sometimes more often than that, unless someone can give me an idea about what else it could be.

I even thought about upgrading to a higher DSL line, since they promote a 10.0 line as being available, but their servicemen tested the line and said it wouldn't support more than 5.0, so it does not make sense to double the cost for just a slight increase in speed.

Thanks for any help you can give.

David

 

Do you have a wifi router? Is it secure? Is someone using your line and hogging your bandwidth?

 

I do have wifi router, and it is not secure, but we are out in the country in the middle of ten acres. No one is close enough to get in. I can't even get the wireless to get out to my barn, which is much closer than any neighbor or any road.
I do have a lot on my system, with 2 DishNetwork receivers, 3 computers, a wireless router at the input of the DSL line to the house, and a hard wire running from there to both of the other ends of the house, with one of those hooked up to another wireless router to give me wireless coverage throughout the house. Another hard line goes across to the other end of the house into a switch, into which I have another computer, TV, PS3, DishNetwork Receiver, and a Wii. I had a third wireless router at that end as well, but it went out and I just replaced it with a switch I had.
However, even if I disconnect everything but a single computer, the same thing happens. Reset the modem, the speed goes up to over 3mps. 15 minutes it is down to 2mps. Within 24 hours, it is at about 800kps and goes on down to 50 or 60, which is less than dialup. Hours and hours of service calls to no effect.

When I want to download a file, or watch a movie across the internet, I just get up and take two minutes to reset the modem and hope it lasts through the movie.