I have the same package and also live in Salem. The speed tests are not 100%. Try testing from different locations...dslreports.com is a good one. Get rid of the crap old rca leased modem if you have it. I upgraded and bought my own modem (DCM-202) from Best Buy for $60.00. Here are my speeds with the new modem and Cablnut tweaks using my own CSS file.
:::.. Download Stats ..:::
Connection is:: 9365 Kbps about 9.4 Mbps (tested with 5983 kB)
Download Speed is:: 1143 kB/s
Tested From:: https://testmy.net (server2)
Test Time:: Sun Jan 22 09:23:43 PST 2006
Bottom Line:: 167X faster than 56K 1MB download in 0.9 sec
Diagnosis: Awesome! 20% + : 97.32 % faster than the average for host (comcast.net)
Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-U008NYQRB
This is from dslreports.com
2006-01-22 12:54:15 EST: 8466 / 687
Your download speed : 8466 kbps or 1058.2 KB/sec.
Your upload speed : 687 kbps or 85.9 KB/sec.