Only getting 300 kb/s?

[438]

I'm very new to owning my own computer, and am the only one in my family with any knowledge whatsoever. So I have to learn all that I can about how everything works. So please, bare with me because I don't know much.

I'm only getting 300 kb/s, which as of recently I find out is pretty pathetic. Many people I know average at least 4 mb/s.

My actual questions are these; what are all my possible options at increasing my connection speeds? How do I know what providers to look for? What should I look for when determining what is the best internet provider? How much do differing modems/routers affect connection speeds?

I know how to mess around with the settings on my router, I just don't know what all of it does.

My provider is At&t. Answering a single one of these questions would benefit me greatly, and I would be extremely thankful.
I forgot to mention, I have different speeds over the past year, but with the same provider. Some days I get 150 kb/s, but there was one time when I reached 1 mb/s, and averaged 700 kb/s for a time, what causes these fluctuations?

[der]

First off, there are no settings in a router or modem that can increase you download or upload speeds if you are reaching your limit set by your provider. Generally, any modem or router will give you speeds that you will be getting from your internet provider until you get to the 100Mb/s or higher. When shopping you need to keep in mind the difference between MB/s and Mb/s. there are 8Mb (megabits) in one MB (megabyte) since one B (byte) is 8 b (bit). Some providers advertise in Mb because it is a bigger number while others advertise in MB. As for the best provider, you have to keep in mind of your location, the equipment the providers use in your location, and peoples feelings about that provider around your area.

With a wired connection, you will generally always get your maximum speed unless you go through a lot of switches or other routers. With wifi, you will still get you max speed but you may lose some data due to distance and it will need to be resent making it look like you are getting a slower speed.