It's a valiant effort -- download and use this free tool -- and help to see what ISPs are actually providing for bandwidth:
Did you ever wonder whether you're actually getting the bandwidth you pay for? Does your cable modem or DSL seem abnormally slow? Or are you just curious about how fast your internet connection is, compared to neighbors and others around the US. If so, help us out, and learn something at the same time! We've just released our latest utility - and this time it is FREE. With it you can test your own internet bandwidth, and at the same time help us figure out which broadband service provider is telling the truth, and which is lying about online connection speeds. You can't fix what you can't measure, so be part of the solution and download our free utility today.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1960153,00.asp
It would be better if this tool was online, so we did not have to install another piece of software... oh well.
Cheers,
Port80