[General Maximus]

well either, it doesnt matter. Just because he is getting 9.98 doesnt mean that is the max he can get, I believe the config file allows for slightly over 10mbit.

You are not connected at 9.98mbit and only receiving 2.5 if you want to use that logic. You are "connected" at 100bits which is determined by the weakest link in your hardware (probably patch cable), your modem limits you to 10mbit as determined by your config file, and when either stm or protocol shaping is in effect your get throttled accordingly.

Just because you can receive 10mbit which is 100% of your allowed throughput doesnt mean you are going to receive 100% (2.5mbit) when throttled. The whole point behind stm and protocol shaping (allegedly) is to alleviate the pressure on the network during peak periods and if everyone is hammering their connection Friday evenings as an example, you will receive whatever bandwidth is available up to a maximum of 2.5mbit, buuuuuuuuut, that might mean you only get 0.5mbit for a couple of hours.