Geofffer: I have the same problem and spoke to my service provider who informed me that this is currently an international problem.
I just did a few speedtest.net tests from Phoenix, AZ, USA to:
Johannesburg, SA Download 1.8 to 2.6 Mb/s Upload 1.2 to 1.8 Mb/s Ping 345msec
Durban, SA Download 2.4 to 3.5 Mb/s Upload .6 Mb/s Ping 702msec
New York, NY USA Download 9.9 Mb/s Upload 5.3 Mb/s Ping 180msec
Tempe, AZ USA (cross town) Download 13 Mb/s Upload 9 Mb/s Ping 75 msec
Overall the I-net is pretty slow, I ran 22M cross town yesterday after getting a new modem from my ISP.
Looks like your ISP is giving you the straight scoop. 400msec Ping rates are poor and indicate 3 - 5 % packet loss. Pingtest.net graded my connections to SA a D. "Concerning. Most online applications will not perform well but should function in some capacity"