How to increase uploading and downloading speed?

[poor]

Rapishare premium do improves our download speed aside from our own internet connection. Premium membership provides bigger bandwidth for us to download a file, thats why we can get faster speed.

I can understand the term "bandwith" in hosting stuff, but I wonder what they mean by bandwidth here. Hope you explain it a bit.
Moreover, I noticed that though my internet connection if of 256 KBPS, usually my download speed is just 1 to 2 kbps and it's taking ages to download these days.

well actually your internet speed it 256 kilo bits per second (you will get this speed if few people are only using internet)and not bytes , to convert to bytes divide by 8 , so if you using other things as well then speed gets low .