Sounds as though it's your setup. But also keep in mind that there's dial-up users out there who have a combined upld/dwnld of about 6-7 kbps. Also those who offer many upld slots that share bandwidth & might only offer a minimal speed at times.
Do this test for us (& you): Bug Report instructions & sample image And tell us whether it's True/False?

What firewalls do yo have? What Operating System version do you have? What modem & router brand name & model number do you have? These are all potentially important questions.

In the meantime you can optimise your LW settings with these hints: A well set-up LW can start to automatically continue its dwnlding after it's settled down perhaps 2 out of 3 times you open LW. Optimising LW & Maximising Uplds & Dwnlds A (1st post only) & also Part B which is even better & last & least are search & dwnld hints. The latter one I've been thinking about re-writing for some time. That's just for playing it safe. eg- I show all speeds & qualities.