conected to BSNL Brdbnd in ubuntu 9.04 but downloading is pathetic

A

I installed ubuntu 9.04 two days ago... (people suggested it was best to begin with .. i have been using others flavours occasionally in past few months)

got connected to internet via ethernet.

while I was trying to update ubuntu using update manager or download amarok using package manager the download went fine for 20 - 25 seconds at a speed of 30 KB/s then came to a halt (saw using system monitor that there was no network activity) for about 30-40 seconds and this thing kept repeating...

This does not happen when I download something using windows...
and even firefox didn't work when the system monitor (task manager) showed no network activity ...

what I want to know is ... is there a problem with ubuntu or my laptop or BSNL ? and what should I do to resolve it...

should I switch to open solaris?

Ubuntu's update manager is not faster than Windows update manager. Try download anything other than updates and post your results here.

A

even surfing was interrupted ... pages would open for a short interwal of time (20-30 sec) then for other (30 -40 sec) the browser behaved as if there was no internet connection .. also the system monitor showed no network usage...

No problem here (Kerala) with BSNL. Ubuntu's update manager is bit slow, but browsing and downloading speed is normal.