<HTML>DSL's speed is constantly, it doesn't related to rush hour or not. But Rogers' cable do related to how many user in your neighbour, so the speed of Rogers' cable can drop down significantly during the rush hours. BTW, DSL's speed is related to distancce from your location to the DSL's center. I have experienced both of them, I prefer DSL much more than Rogers' cable, not only the speed and also the service.
For difficult to estiblish the connection, do you use W2K and also using obtain the IP address automaticly? if so, you can specify the IP address for your network adpater, just like 192.168.0.1, then the problem will be gone.
The easy way is just call Bell Sympatico technical support, tell them your problem, they will help you to slove it. That's my experience.</HTML>