Taking long time to connect

[FreeStuffRules!]

For the past week or so, it's taking a loooong time to connect when I start FW. I frequently have to disconnect and reconnect several times to get a connection. Even after I connect, I often get only a good signal. I used to connect immediately and always got an excellent signal.
i'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this, or if this is just a problem on my end. I thought perhaps there was spmething going on with Gnutella or the daemon.

[et voilà]

This is on your end, FW is as fast for me and there is no Gnutella problem/shortage ATM. How long (seconds) does it take to you?

Ciao

[FreeStuffRules!]

I haven't timed it, but sometimes takes more than 2 minutes. Sometimes i disconnect & reconnect, and get connected quick. Other times I do it several times before connecting. Sometimes I just leave it alone and when I come back in 5 or 10 minutes it's connected.

[SpencerUk]

make sure your firewall (both hardware and software) are configured and also your ports (in your hardware)

[FreeStuffRules!]

Nothing wrong with my firewall. I'm on a Mac, using OS X's firewall.
It's worked fine as long as i've used LiumeWire & FrostWire. This is a recent problem.
Also, after I am connected and using FW, my connection strength frequently drops down to fair, and then eventually works its way back to good or excellent. then, a while later, it may happen again. I talked to my roommate today and he saays he's had the same problem. So. we may have a problem with our internet service, if no one else is reporting problems. This actually started about the same time we INCREASED our service from 512kbs to 1.5Mbs. Coincidence?