[joglynne]

Are you, by any chance, confusing ADSL Broadband suppliers such as Be (which works through your phone line and whose speed would depend on the distance you are from the nearest exchange ie Urmston) with Cable broadband (which is delivered by a Virginmedia cable that is run directly to your house from a green box which will be situated at the roadside somewhere near to your home)

If you pay for 20MB BB with Virginmedia then you should get somewhere approaching that speed depending on the time of day and the pressure of users sharing your server.

The restriction in the level of BB (1.5 -2 MG ) that you mention is an ADSL issue and does not apply to Cable BB.