It could be congestion between you and NYC, or maybe a line is down.
So I should try another site- not Toronto, I should imagine.
Okay, and I’ll report the results.
Geographically speaking, it is always better to pick the server closest to your location. However, in certain instances, a speed test server may be so inundated with requests that it becomes bogged down and simply cannot cope with the demand, thus leading to incorrect results.
As for your fluctuating speeds… I won’t know exactly what the problem is if I’m not there, and if you call AT&T, they may give you the run-around in trying to diagnose your problem.
According to the AT&T website, you should be syncing (connecting with the local exchange) at 3008 kbps down, 800 kbps up. At best, you’re managing 1500 kbps. Welcome to my world… I can’t get any better, since I live too far from the local exchange.
I’d advice calling AT&T and asking politely if they can check your “line stats” on their end. If you can, please ask for a copy of the “Attenuation” and “Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)”. Those figures will tell us whether or not you can sustain the advertised speed from AT&T.
Now, the bad news. AT&T (as well as practically every other DSL provider in the country, Canada included), includes the following words in their agreement: “up to”. This means that while you are paying for 3 Mbit service, AT&T is not contractually bound to provide that speed, if you can’t support it, as you are technically agreeing to any speed “up to” 3 Mbits.
It won’t hurt to ask, however.
I’ll call tomorrow during normal business hours, and will ask all the questions you posed. Goes without saying that I’ll report back. (I don’t mind asking them anything. ATT doesn’t give me DSL for free.
First and foremost, you need to find out how far you from the CO (Central Office), which is not really an office but is a DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer). The further run from the DSLAM, the more attenuation your signal will have.
One would hope that you are within the range of being able to receive 3mbps service. Wiki cites the following distances usable for various speeds:
16 Mbit/s at 7,000 feet (~2.1 km or ~1.33 miles)
1.5 Mbit/s at 15,000 feet (4.5 km or ~2.8 miles)
Keep in mind that these distances are not ‘as the crow flies,’ but the path of the circuit. Depending on how the telco has your neighborhood wired, you could literally live right next to the DSLAM and be 15000 feet away.
As for actual attenuation numbers, if you’re feeling brave, you can actually get these readings from your modem’s status page, although you’ll need to disconnect your router and hook your computer right up to the modem and pull up the modem’s IP address (usually 192.168.0.1 with AT&T).
My son can do it. All I have to do is drag and drop him here. 
Also, I’m pretty sure we’re near a DSLAM.
Once when the Cable Guy was here, he bragged how cable is 3X faster than DSL So he ran the test, and my DSL was faster. I had known (or heard) earlier that we were within a mile or two of that thang. 
Poor tech was embarrassed, but we let him off the hook by telling him about the DSLAM whose name I had no clue of at the time.
I’m going to wait the 10 days ATT says it nears to get me to peak performance. Then I’ll call for the information you suggested I get, IAmNotSpartacus
I hope this is ok with you—considering the time you’ve devoted in this thread.
I’ve had speed problems multiple times with DSL. Once it was due to bad network configuration at the broadband gateway (upstream from the DSLAM). Once it was due to bad firmware on the DSLAM card. Once it was due to bad wiring at the DSLAM (the way it was explained to me is that people are constantly in there doing physical wiring and sometimes they mess something up). Once it was a problem at the NID where rain was getting in and grounding the wires.
Each time it was a holy mother bear to get fixed. Each time they wanted to blame my wiring for something and I said no f’ing way, I’m very familiar with DSL and I’m not letting go until you figure out the problem. You should do the same. Be prepared for multiple service appointments though.
Just FYI… one other possibility is that a bandwidth study is being done on your line. That doesn’t mean anyone is doing research on it. When you have line problems, AT&T has a system that will drop you down to the lowest speed, and then over a period of days try to increase it. Depending on the outcome they may have to change your service plan.
By all means, please do-- I am a big fan of consumers getting what they pay for 